Stanley F. Bronstein – Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

When You Aim For Perfection, You Discover It’s A Moving Target
(George Fisher)

Aim – To position or direct (a firearm, ball, arrow, rocket, etc.) so that, on firing or release, the discharged projectile will hit a target or travel along a certain path. To intend or direct for a particular effect or purpose. To direct efforts, as toward an object.

Perfection – The highest degree of proficiency, skill, or excellence. A quality, trait, or feature of the highest degree of excellence. The state of conforming absolutely to the description or definition of an ideal type. Exactly fitting the need in a certain situation or for a certain purpose.

Discover – To see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown).

Moving – To pass from one place or position to another. To set or keep in motion.

Source: Dictionary.com

Is It Okay To Strive To Be Perfect?

Personally, I think it is, PROVIDED YOU DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP OR FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF WHEN YOU FAIL TO ACHIEVE IT. Many years ago, I considered myself to be pretty darned perfect. I used to get highly frustrated when others around me (especially my employees), didn’t live up to my standards. I was a perfectionist. I believed I was perfect and everyone else around me wasn’t. Boy was I ever wrong.

Somewhere along the way, I began to realize that I had room to improve. I discovered that I wasn’t perfect. Now that I think about it, I’m not so sure that I beat myself up over my imperfections. Instead, I would take it out on others around me. Then one day, out of the blue, I realized that it was okay if I wasn’t perfect and it was also okay if others around me weren’t perfect either.

At that point I realized that perfection is a goal; it is a target. It is something we rarely attain. Instead of it being a level of excellence we must constantly maintain, it is a level of excellence for which we must constantly strive to achieve.

Perfection is a thing to be strived for, even if it is rarely achieved.

So, What Do We Need To Do In Order To Strive To Achieve Perfection

As Tony Robbins says, in order to be successful you must:

Commit Yourself To The Principle Of Constant, Never Ending Improvement.

So, What’s The Best Way To Improve Ourselves

The “fastest” way to improve is usually to take great big “one-time” steps. The “easiest” way to improve is usually to take small steps, but to constantly keep taking them.

It’s similar to the famous race between the tortoise and the hare. The hare took big, fast steps and the tortoise kept plodding along, slowly but surely. As we all know, the tortoise won the race, despite the fact that the hare was faster.

Which Is The Most Important?

Personally, I believe both are important. I am committed to constantly moving forward, slowly and steadily, BUT I also take great, big steps from time to time. Quite simply, I attempt to do whatever is appropriate in any given situation.

Learning From Your Mistakes

One way to improve is to learn from your mistakes. A perfect example of that happened to me during a recent visit to the Canyon Ranch Spa in Tucson, AZ.

Upon arriving, I gave my car keys to a young lady who was working the bell desk. I told her my room was now ready and asked her to have one of the guys unload all the contents of my trunk and put it in my room. I asked her if she thought it could be done within 2 hours. She said certainly. I suggested to her that she send one of the guys to do it, as there were some heavy boxes in my trunk that contained copies of my 2 previous books. Approximately 3 hours later I returned to the bell desk and they gave me back my keys. I then went to my room and saw that my luggage was not in the room. Apparently she had forgotten to have someone unload my car.

A quick check of the bell desk logbook indicated my request was never logged and consequently no one followed up on it. I promptly returned my keys to her and asked if she would please have someone take care of it as soon as possible. She knew I was unhappy, but I asked nicely and I was polite. Sensing the urgency of the situation, she looked and saw no one was available to unload my car. Guess what she did. Apparently she went on her own and unloaded my car by herself (including the heavy books). She did this without being told and without even being asked. She did it because she realized she made a mistake and knew that it was her responsibility to correct it as soon as possible.

Being Aware Of The Need To Improve

Another great way to improve is by being aware that you have room for improvement. If you believe you are already as good at something as you’re going to get, then you will have no desire to improve. If you think those around you are satisfied, you will not feel the need to improve.

I believe that you should constantly try to improve yourself, even if there is no need to improve. You should improve yourself for improvements sake. You and everyone around you will benefit.

Today’s Video

One person who works to constantly improve is Chuck Vermillion of Scottsdale, Arizona. Chuck is the founder and CEO of an information technology company called OneNeck IT Services. Chuck is a tremendous manager of people and his company constantly works to improve a little bit more each and every day. in this video, he talks about one of the things he has learned over the years. He has learned that in order to succeed, you need to stay true to who you are.

Chuck Vermillion is one of the persons who will be featured in my upcoming book:

If you want to view that portion of the interview, click on the image below.

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