Progression not Perfection

My second daughter, Crystal, has always seemed to be a perfectionist. From a very young age, she has ever taken great pride in doing every task right and going beyond what was required. At an early age, probably five years of age, she was making her bed and trying to get it right. As her parents, we did not ask her to partake in that practice; she saw the need and attempted it. At that age, she had missed the mark. She didn’t do a good job, but she kept on doing it, and over time, she got better.
She was imperfect, but she progressed and eventually became very good at that task.
Since the age of five, she has continued to work hard and pursue ardently anything she desires. When she fell short, Crystal would be so hard on herself, and she would beat herself up over not achieving whatever was at hand, even to a point where she would see herself as a failure. Being so harsh on herself led her to worry about her future. She would question her future successes when not perfecting one task. I told her, “your performance is important, but your apparent failures are sometimes your greatest teachers. You are going to hit the target, but sometimes you are going to miss, and that is okay”. She has been reminded of this lesson several times over the years. As I walked into her room the other day, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a simple sign she handwrote in her room, “progression, not perfection.”
As men, we are imperfect for sure. However, we should always be moving forward, be getting better, taking another step, and not quitting. We realize we are flawed; we miss the mark sometimes. We may be flawed, but we can be intentional about progressing. Our families, our faith, and business ventures need us to progress even amidst missing the mark. Let’s dismiss the myth of having it all together in every aspect of our lives. That myth is not a reality for anyone, including you and me. As we emphasize progression, we will leave our immediate environment and our world a better place. My daughter now knows how to make her bed and keep her room immaculately clean. Men, too, can be intentional about progressing in the things that matter.