It’s the beginning of December, the time of year when we reflect back on the past 11 months. We set goals to accomplish the things we said we were going to get done this year before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. This is a podcast that has been brewing in my mind for a while. I’ve often said “progress over perfection” and “done is better than perfect.”   But perfection is a good thing, not a bad thing, right? Should we strive for perfection? I don’t think perfection is something to be idolized. I’m very goal orientated but I’m not a perfectionist, although I have lots of goals that I want to accomplish. I first realized I wasn’t a perfectionist in 8th Grade. I couldn’t get to that ideal of straight A’s. I always had a floating C on my report card. I remember failing a test because I wasn’t getting the information clearly. I was seeing it differently. Later, I found out I had dyslexia which made a lot of sense! We all see the world in a different way. There is no one exactly like you. When we strive for perfection, what is the outside marker that deems we are doing a good job?  Who is the judge of what perfection is? Perfect to one person may not be perfect to another. I want to change our vocabulary from perfectionism to excellence I’m definitely a woman of excellence. I try to be excellent in everything I do, but I don’t strive for perfection. The definition of perfection is “the condition, state or quality of being free or as free as possible of all flaws or defects” or “the action or process of improving something until it is faultless or as faultless as possible.” The definition of excellence is “the quality of being outstanding or extremely good” and “an outstanding feature or quality.” They sound pretty similar and, in some cases, the words can be used interchangeably. The difference is the intent behind the words and the way they make you feel. When you are going for the perfect room, the perfect picture, the perfect goal weight, you are fixated on what the outcome is going to look like. Is it your level of perfect or someone else’s level of perfect? Expectations of others In the past, when I’ve thought I could get something perfect, the problem was that it never was. My husband has perfectionistic tendencies. When we were newly married and I would paint a room or complete an organizing project, my husband would come in, inspect it, and find the flaws... which I can tell you, I was not very happy about! I’m a good enough painter. I saved us a lot of money painting the rooms. They’re not perfect, but they’re beautiful. I did the best that I could with the resources I had and I finished the job. I did it with excellence. But when I tried to meet the expectations of other people, I felt judged. Am I ever going to be good enough? When you strive for perfection, the definition alone tells you “the condition, state or quality of being free or as free as possible of all flaws or defects.” Free of all flaws and defects? Are you kidding? We’re in a fallen world. We can’t be free of flaws because we’re human. Excellence IS achievable I am so much happier now that I’m striving for excellence. But I was 30 years old before I decided to be a woman of excellence. For example, I spent years watching my best friend do everything... parenting, being hospitable, and being a friend... with excellence. One day, I just started doing what she did. I used to spend a lot of time bemoaning the fact that I had chores to do, or waiting until the chores filled up a block of time, or resenting that I had to do the chores. Now, if I’m walking by and I see something that needs doing... laundry to put away, something to pick up... I do it right away. I’ve become a person of action and excellence. How does this relate to you? When you are looking to get your house organized or become a more productive person, there is a tendency for us to dream about what it’s going to be like when everything is perfectly organized. It’s not going