“Success tends not to go to the person who is error-free, because he also tends to be risk averse. Rather, it goes to the person who recognizes that life is pretty much a percentage business. It isn’t making mistakes that’s critical; it’s correcting them and getting on with the principal tasks.” – Donald Rumsfeld

I meet them every now and then. People who take pride in saying nothing ever goes wrong with their plans. They always get it right. You never find them looking vulnerable. They are always cool, calm and collected – ever so sure of the outcome of whatever they are engaged in doing.

People who act as described above often want to be seen as – and some claim to be – perfect.

In Reality Being Without Fault – or Being Perfect – Would Be Too Boring to Bear on Earth!

In my opinion, a person whose activities have such predictable outcomes (i.e. who always gets everything right and never makes mistakes) will eventually bore not just others, but him/herself as well.

But the truth is that no human can really be perfect.

I’ve written elsewhere that once a person can achieve real perfection in life, s/he no longer belongs here on earth. It would be time for him/her to move over to heaven…or anywhere perfect beings live.

Not everyone is a soccer lover. But most people who are conscious adults living on earth today will have heard of Lionel Messi. He’s the small man who makes big things happen for Barcelona FC in Spain.

Back in April this year (2013) his team got beaten by a massive 0 – 4 margin. I refused to believe Messi was on the pitch that day. And not just him. That team has some of the world’s best players on it.

That they got beaten that badly was baffling. But guess what? Messi himself admitted that his fitness was not the cause of the club’s 0-4 loss to Bayern Munich.

It is this demonstrated ability to admit he can make errors that’s helped him become a great achiever.

Acknowledging Our Faults Creates Opportunities for Self-Renewal & Growth

We can all learn from that. Messi knew – from his champion mentality – that the loss, though bad, would not end the world…or his career.

Indeed, we students of success know that such big time failures often serve as inspiration for us to move to the next level of achievement.

As a Writer, Aim for Perfection, but Understand That You Cannot Achieve It

“Perfectionists rarely get anything done, because they often want to get everything right.” – Tayo K. Solagbade

A person can achieve exceptionally high levels of competence in the process of aiming for perfection. In writing (like any other field) therefore, one must set a goal that challenges him/her to pursue perfection.

You will continually identify areas where you fall short, then make needed adjustments, and try again.  

Sometimes You May Have to Review Your Set Goal

If after repeatedly making needed adjustments, you still struggle to achieve your goal, you may need to re-visit the goal you set for yourself.

Ask yourself some serious questions…like the following…

How did you settle on your chosen writing goal?

Let’s say you’ve set a goal to write 2 blog posts per day:

a. Did you consider how many words each post would be for example?

b. Was the time needed to research each topic for useful information/ideas factored in?

c. What about the time to be spent editing and proof reading?

d. How many days in week would you be able to write at that rate?

And so on…

When you give honest answers to the above questions, does the goal you set still look realistic for YOU, at YOUR current level of competence?

Hint: If yes, keep persisting, and you’ll eventually breakthrough. If “NO”, sit down and re-do your goal setting, this time based on the insights gained from the above question and answer session.

Final Words: Perfectionists Rarely Finish Writing (On Time)

Whatever you do, never delude yourself into believing you must make your writing “perfect” – because pursuit of perfection is a never ending journey for use here on earth.

What you will find is that by chasing perfection, your work will eventually get so good that others will hail your accomplishment as a writer.

But in order for them to see it, you’ll have to know when you’ve done enough to let it go out and be READ as your published work, by others.

Sadly, perfectionists rarely get to that point when they can let go.

Rather, they tell themselves it can still be made better, and keep trying to do so, without considering other factors e.g. total number to be written, and delivery deadline.

In the process they end up never finishing – at least not on time. That bad habit eventually leads to disappointed clients – and fewer referrals or opportunities for new business.

Don’t let that be your story!