Demanding Perfection

Perfection is, broadly, a state of completeness and flawlessness. An unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence. Generally the view, and why people tend to shy away from calling for perfection, is that there are only two avenues only from this view – extreme egotism from always being the best at everything. Or an extreme sense of failure for never quite being able to reach the expectations set. Yet I believe there is another alternative. One that we have yet to fully comprehend as a society.

And so we now seem to live in a society were mediocrity is praised. Where in little leagues around the country there is no such thing as an MVP, or even the hustle award, or at some times even a champion. That everyone is a winner, regardless of how well they play.  That it is unfair to single out those more gifted athletically, or even those who try harder, with a prize for their efforts. That it merely perpetuates a declining view of self-esteem that some children posses. But I beg that the opposite is true. By indicating that every person is equal on the field or court, regardless of performance, regardless of effort really, are we not stating that it is ok to not give 100%? That we are saying that hard work and perseverance doesn’t matter, and that everyone will always be compensated the same? Essentially that if you just sit there, you will be rewarded the same as the person who busts their butt to overcome obstacles. What are we instilling in our children? For sure it’s not work ethic and never giving up.   It’s entitlement.

And is that how it works in the “real world” as it were? Until quite recently I would have said no.  I would have said that those kids were at an extreme disadvantage and in for a rude awakening upon entering the work force. But unfortunately, as the parents who taught their children these views are now in positions of seeming power, the real world can’t even escape this backwards thinking. Employees are being promoted and given raises solely based on whom they know, not how well they do their job. Some are staying in positions simply because they have been there for longer despite not completing their job duties even half-heartedly. While a very slim group of individuals is cast aside simply, and most unfortunately, because of their drive. Demanding excellence is now seen as a downfall to the attitude that lack of effort is the best way to coast through existence.  I was the one in for a rude awakening upon entering the work force. Finishing projects on time, or early (yikes!), does nothing to offer you praise from your superiors, but only exposes those who are slacking. And soon enough, those coworkers know your name and try to tear it down. Arrive early, fulfill your duties as perfect as possible, and review and correct mistakes with those who you supervise, and you will only pile on the reasons for people to want you gone. Have a friend in the higher ups and you can be late continuously, not complete your work, hardly perform your daily tasks, and exude a confidence of pure laziness, and you shall stay.  The politics of the working world make me sick. There is such a clash between these two worlds of demanding perfection and accepting mediocrity that unless we embrace an alternative view, we will never mesh…

And that alternative is this. There is a notion, dubbed the paradox of perfection, that the greatest perfection is imperfection. That perfection, in fact, depends on incompleteness. That with incompleteness therein lies a potential for development and the cultivating of new characteristics. That we ought to expect the drive for perfection, but in reality will never be able to achieve it, as there is always room for improvement. Is this not our chief example in Christ? The term Christian now possesses a plethora of meanings, but at the core does it not mean to be “like Christ”? The very image of perfection is who we are called to be. And yet we fail every day to meet those standards. We demand perfection in our spiritual lives. So why is it such a travesty to demand perfection in other areas?  If we don’t demand perfection, soon what will our products look like? Will there even be such a thing as quality any longer? As a child, I grew up in a world where things like MVP and Student of the Week and the Hustle award existed at the youth level.  And if one person deserved all three awards, that’s who got it. A place where academically, straight A’s were regarded much more highly than C’s. The bar was set at the level of excellence and we were expected to perform to it in every area of our lives. And the outcome of demanding such perfection were not the two extremes mentioned earlier, but rather a balance of the two.

Since we were expected to excel, putting forth every once of effort was the only possibility of that coming true. A view that our work was never done. Even if we won a game, or scored a 100% on an exam, that there was always another game. Always another test. As kids we were pushed to our fullest potential and that instilled in us a dedicated sense of work ethic. That even at our best, there was always room for improvement. It also instilled a level of confidence from knowing we had attained a goal and had done well at something. By providing differing consequences for the different levels of performance, you provide motive and incentive to achieve those higher levels. If we provide the same rewards for everything, why would anyone bother to exert more energy? I believe that if you demand mediocrity, that’s the most you will ever get. People will only perform as much as they need to in order to meet the expectations set. But if you demand perfection, the only thing you risk is coming close to meeting it.