The Sanford Berenberg Experience: Message of the Day - Perfection within Our Imperfection

Friday, July 15, 2011

Message of the Day - Perfection within Our Imperfection

Good Morning,

I am constantly reminded of the fact that I am not perfect (no need for help on this one you folks in the peanut gallery J ).

Maybe it’s the bed that I just can never make right each morning, no matter how many times my spouse shows me.

Maybe it is the water that drips from the pet’s water bowl when I seem to overfill it some days.

Maybe it is the horrible fashion choices in color-coordination I make when dressing each day (even though everything my wife purchases for me is fashionable and coordinated).

I am imperfect.

And you know what, that is ok.

Wait!

Is this guy who writes and talks and lives and breathes self-improvement really saying that not being perfect, or even more so, not striving for perfection is okay?

Well…. Yes.

Why?

First, we live in an imperfect world.

No matter how good something looks, or how pretty someone is, or how smart someone is, or how well constructed something is, you will invariably find flaws the closer you look at it or them.

The lady with the perfect body has an eating disorder. The man with the perfect car has a wife and kids who would rather he spend more time with them than his car. The woman who has earned a promotion a year for the last four years running has no personal life to speak of. The man with the perfect physique reached a plateau on muscle mass and found some other ways to help bulk up. The preacher who exemplifies piety has a closet with an army of skeletons in it. The closer you look at the shining armor, you will inevitably find chinks.

So what is the message?

To improve ourselves, but understand that we are flawed.

We can learn and grow daily, but at the same time, we must know that we will never achieve perfection (nor should we strive for it). In the law of diminishing returns, we will find that after a certain point of effort the incremental improvement gets smaller and smaller.

Instead of putting all of our effort in being the best at something, forsaking all else, we should strive for better. Not perfect.

And in that path, looking to better ourselves, we can some measure of perfection within our own imperfections.

We are not perfect, but as long as we strive to better ourselves, then life gets better.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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