The Reality Behind “Perfection”
The pursuit of so-called perfection is far from the polished product seen in the public domain
When we observe the success of companies, sports teams, or even our own peers and colleagues, we are often witnessing only the end result. In a world of careful curation, success is often reduced to glossy pictures or simplistic soundbites. What appears to be “perfection” is really anything but.
There is a clear selection bias in a world that tends to tout extremes. In the realm of business and sport, we tend to only see the winners. We hear their inspirational quotes and see airbrushed shots featuring triumphant captions. While motivating, this often brings undue pressure on final outcomes.
We must rationalise the reality with ourselves. Such outcomes are often not immediate wins, but rather a sinusoidal process filled with small gains and losses along the way. As I try to remember for both my children and myself, there is no fast, straight path to extraordinary and sustained achievement. Instead, it’s the end result of incredible tenacity, struggle, and basic hard work. And maybe even a little luck.
This idea of “perfection” is therefore more of a process than an end goal. Every beautiful airbrushed shot has had hundreds of terrible takes behind it. A tennis player only has to win slightly more points than her opponent to win a match. Venture capitalists only need one home run in a portfolio to return the fund. Entrepreneurs often end up with a business model that is a far cry from what they began with.
I’m often reminded of Voltaire’s quote, “The best is the enemy of the good” when my children get frustrated and hung up when something is not immediately “perfect.” The fixation on comparing our own individual progress with the very extreme end in any sector can only be detrimental. Behind the “perfect” facade we see is often just a very good individual who worked consistently hard towards a strong end result. And maybe some photoshop too.
