Trying to be perfect is a heavy burden for principals and teacher leaders and a source of stress for others in the school community with whom they interact.
Here’s my list of reasons for why perfection is not a worthy goal:
1. It is impossible to be perfect;
2. Trying to be perfect is incredibly stressful;
3. Trying to be perfect can cause us to expect perfection in others, which is incredibly stressful for them;
4. Striving for perfection can lead to paralysis;
5. Because of that paralysis, the perfect can become the enemy of the good, which means that good things may not get done;
6. Lowering one’s standards to, say, 90% can be a way of breaking through the paralysis to actions that benefit students; and
7. Many things that are good for students don’t have to be perfect to add value to their school experience.
Please add to the list: Assuming that 10 was a desirable number of reasons, I wrote the title of this post before I made the list. Then I discovered that I could come up with just seven reasons. Given that it’s okay and even desirable to be less than perfect, I’m hoping that obliging readers will offer a few more items for the list.
Thanks for post on perfectionism. I really needed the reminder. I feel the burden at times. And I do know it is not good for myself or anyone else. Sending it to my school email and posting by my desk ….. Debra
Perfectionism can certainly be a burden for ourselves and those close to us. Unlearning the habit, though, can be challenging. I hope that the reminder by your desk helps you consider when it might be a good idea to lower your standards.
8) Being perfect is subjective and thus intangible. You would be chasing something that doesn’t exist.
A great addition to the list, Audrey… Thanks!
Perfectionism or striving for it, seems to leave little or no room for spontaneity. Spontaneity gives us, as teachers, principals and humans, times of exploration, truth- telling, joy, laughter and “teachable moments” from these pieces of very human nature! Patricia T. De Bello
9) Striving for greatness is warranted. But even when you reach the peak of greatness, you never achieve perfection since you’re always continuing to improve.
I just came across Neil Gaiman’s observation that “perfection is like chasing the horizon.”
This may be number 4, that perfection leads to paralysis: Not achieving perfection can cause people to give up. I’m thinking of people who quit diet and exercise when the scale doesn’t go down fast enough, or they eat a whole pie and decide they are incapable of dieting. What is perfection? I want perfectly behaved students. What does that really mean? Obedient? inquisitive? Creative? Where does perfect begin and end? And who decides?
Mike
I love that you were able to “let go” of your intended list of 10. That’s such a great example of how we can manage our perfectionistic tendencies (of which I am regularly challenged). Since this topic resonates with me, I’d like to share a post I’ve written on this topic: http://sowhatwouldyousay.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/the-perfectionism-paradox/
Thanks for your affirmation of the importance of this topic, Jamie, and for sharing your post.
Leaving it one short of ten perfectly complements the spirit of the post. Outstanding message to those administrators who pull work off bulletin boards because of a misspelled word or capitalization error.
I agreed that “It is impossible to be perfect.” but “Do One’s Best” is possible.