Morning Motivator - Why Be Better Than Good..?

"The enemy of good is better."
- Unknown

Special thanks to Nancy, for helping with this Morning Motivator.

I find most INTERESTING, the weekends that I look back and think - "What did I really accomplish?" For me, this past weekend was spent working on my home, studying and spending some unusual hours growing a blossoming relationship. But what did I really accomplish? Answer: A lot.

Yesterday, I was sitting at Bongo Java in East Nashville studying with Nancy when she ran across a sub title in her book which said... "the enemy of good is better." She SHARED the comment with me, knowing I often struggle with wanting to do MORE and be MORE than just "good." Commonly, I am often setting my targets for things to be "PERFECT." Oddly enough, immediately after her comment, I found a similar subtitle in the psychology book I was reading. Maybe I should be LISTENING, eh? Ultimately, the questions I DERIVED from this were - "When is just being GOOD, enough to be happy?" and "Is PERFECT an unfair goal to set for yourself?"

I BELIEVE that many people are like me in setting their GOALS so high that sometimes we find ourselves on the fast track to BURNOUT. The PURSUIT of perfection is ingrained so deeply that you hold yourself and others to STANDARDS that may not be realistic (hello, my name is STRESS, you may have met me before). Example: As a musician, is it REASONABLE to expect that you will play every note perfectly during your next performance? As a sales rep, do you EXPECT that every person you call will purchase? As a leader, do you MEASURE success as having a 100% employee satisfaction rating? If your bar is set at PERFECTION - what will it take to SUCCEED?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
I am someone that is afflicted with an OBSESSIVE PERFECTIONISM - the unrealistic belief that all things around me have the ability to be "perfect" and the expectation that they should be. I TRULY believe and expect that EVERYTHING should be perfect - my job, my personal relationships, physical fitness, personal finances, etc. The CHALLENGE, of course, is how does one REACH perfection? How does one find a PERFECT mate? How does one SECURE the perfect career?

Understand, I am not suggesting that you LOWER your standards of quality or lessen your DREAMS, rather I AM suggesting that you take some of the pressure off of yourself. Allow for "less than ideal" performance and embrace the fact that YOU ARE HUMAN and YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES. The best baseball hitters in the world only succeed 30% of the time. Realize that sometimes it is the mistakes you make that lead to the BLESSINGS you have yet to receive.

RELAX, do your BEST and KNOW that success is often found by the person who fails the most... and keeps coming back for more!

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com


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