Motivational Monday

STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE MOTIVATES YOU;

STRIVING FOR PERFECTION IS DEMORALIZING.

(Harriet Braiker)

I like learning. I like the idea of taking a class in this or a class on that. I like picking up a book or checking out a website on a certain topic. But somewhere along the line, I stopped doing that. And I know why...

If I couldn't know everything about it, if I wasn't going to become an expert in it, then why bother? If I'm not going to "finish" what I start, then that means I didn't complete it, that I didn't succeed. Right?    

Wrong. It's taken me a looooong time to understand this, and even though I get it logically, there's still a part of me that balks at not being "perfect" at whatever it is. But by limiting myself to my usual all-or-nothing approach, I limited myself entirely. I stopped growing and learning and trying. I can make a cake and not have to become a pastry chef. I can learn belly dancing and not have to perform on a stage in front of an audience. I can know a little about a lot of things and that doesn't make me lazy: it make me interesting.

So, this week - and always! - let's throw perfection to the curb and embrace excellence, however you choose to define it.