Once we have a clear understanding of perfection and excellence -- that perfection is an ideal and excellence is an actual result -- the next step is to make perfection the goal in all things, big and small.
“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” --Vince Lombardi
Huh? Perfection? Isn’t this a contradiction since we can never reach an ideal?
Not at all.
Just consider the alternative: how can excellence be the central goal?
Having “excellence” alone as a goal would be like driving a golf ball onto a green without a pin. What part of the green would be deemed to be most excellent? To where would we putt once there? How would we know if we were even on the real green?
Rather, excellence is defined by its proximity to perfection; how actual results measure up to the ideal or, by this analogy, excellence in golf is the distance to the pin.
Indeed, without the benchmark of perfection, excellence is immeasurable, unknowable, and unobtainable. It is essential to understand that perfection is the means to achieve excellence, not the end in itself. Pursue Perfection; Revere Excellence.
It’s our divine right to align our being with perfection. Yet, then we must hold excellence in reverence, for that is as close as we can humanly get to the divine on this day. A brush with perfection is a glimpse of the divine; momentary, unpredictable, and fleeting. A hole-in-one is a majestic experience but unrepeatable, and certainly not something we can expect on any given golf outing.
The far more common outcome is an "excellent" drive, landing close enough to the pin to easily putt. Humility accepts. Expectation rejects.
Perspective, purpose, and gratitude are the three keys to using perfection as a tool:
- Perspective: Perfection is a means, not an end. So long as you know perfection as an ideal, you will accept your best efforts on this day.
- Purpose: Perfection reveals Excellence, so having an idealized goal is not optional; it is of the essence.
- Gratitude: Revere Excellence in yourself and others, for it is a glimpse of the divine and the source of never ending joy.
"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence." -- Vince Lombardi
Perfection is commonly used in factories to maintain quality control in a program called "Zero Defects."Realizing "zero defects" is, of course, humanly impossible, yet holding the vision of perfection, i.e. “zero defects,” drives excellence; diminishing the instances of defects to almost zero.
Think about the mechanics. "Zero defects" just sets the bar -- the ideal -- to zero, not the reality. That ensures that any and all defects get noticed, and that each is cause for engagement and continuous improvement-- not a reason to cry!
Pursue Perfection;
Revere Excellence.
--BigDreams.com