Why Chasing Excellence Is Better Than Chasing Perfection

Hey readers 👋

This weeks’ message is one that will resonate with a lot of you.

We should all quit chasing perfection and start chasing excellence. Chasing perfection is a fool’s game. Nothing will ever be universally considered perfect. If perfection is the goal, then nothing we create will be worthy of sharing with the world as it’ll never be perfect. by chasing perfection, we wouldn’t get as much done. It’s unproductive.

On the other hand, by chasing excellence, there’s less anxiety, due to the absence of the pressure to ensure that our work is perfect. Ironically, the more we create, the more likely we are to produce something that’s closer to “perfect”, even if it’s something we stumble upon by pure chance.

It’s something I’ve previously written about (see article). A teacher split the students in his photography class into 2 groups. One group were told that they were being graded on the quantity of photos taken. The other group were told that they were being graded on the quality of their photos. Once the students completed the project, the teacher was surprised to discover that the students being graded on quantity actually took the best pictures. These students weren’t chasing perfection. Through a process of trial, error and iteration, they actually ended up taking the best photos, even if some did end up stumbling upon it by sheer luck.

The idea of chasing excellence over perfection should apply to everything we do. From business to relationships and even our careers.

Given perfection often hinders us from getting started, chasing excellence will always lead to a better outcome.

Have an awesome week ahead 🤩

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3 Things I've Enjoyed This Week

1. The danger of a single story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Ted Talk - The Nigerian novelist ells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice – and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
2. Charity: how effective is giving? | The Economist on Youtube - The short documentary explores how altruistic the new golden age of giving is and if the mega-donors become too powerful?
3. Principles For Living: An Operating System for Life - Shane lays out the principles for how he lives his life. It’s something that can make us all live a more effective and principled life.

Tweet of the Week

This Week's Wisdom

“It is much harder to change your entire mindset than it is to change your friends and network circles. It is a genuine short cut to success to hang around with inspiring and experienced people. They can help you navigate and avoid the minefield of mistakes and disasters. They can introduce you to experienced and talented people who can open doors for you. You can stand on the shoulders of giants. You can leverage their decades of experience. You can vicariously learn all they did in a shorter timeframe without all the expensive mistakes and trial and error.”
- Rob Moore, in the book: I’m Worth More

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I also share interesting articles, book quotes, and the occasional speech or TED talk to help us all get smarter, wiser, and live better.

I follow my curiosity at SamuelObe.com

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