embracing imperfection...

So, I'm currently in Jamaica.  Heading to 'Champs' tomorrow (the biggest high school freak show track meet in the world).  What I'm trying to say is I'm a little busy - doing nothing. So I've pulled this one out of the archives from last year.  Back to our regularly scheduled programming shortly...

One of the reasons it took me so long to start this blog, is that I was waiting until I had a whole bunch of fully-formed ideas, that I could consistently and expertly express in writing. 

Problem is - besides being a procrastinator - my fully-formed ideas are in a constant state of flux; thus rendering the whole idea slightly paradoxical - 'fully-formed fluidity', maybe?

So I delayed. And delayed some more. Totally missing the point of a blog. Journal articles, strategy documents, essays, books. These are the sources for 'fully-formed ideas'. 

Not a blog. 

A blog is a fully-formed idea under construction. A part of the process of formation. In the words of Felix Salmon, blogs should be “wonderful tools for generating ideas, rather than being places where your precious store of ideas gets used up in record-quick time.”

Possibly cliche number one in the Great Book of Cliches states that life is about the journey - not the destination. Writing - and idea formation - is the same. We are a product of all we read, think, experience, and write. We are the sum of our experiences. It is an on-going process. Our thoughts are a rough draft, with a constant process of revision. And it is in this process that success lies.

It is the same with sport. If you are waiting until the end-product of your work for your satisfaction, then you will be disappointed. Revel in the training. In your experiences. The challenges.  In the friendships you make. The relationships you build. With others.  With yourself. In the strength you possess. Your will. Your commitment. Learn from your failures. For there will be many. 

Don't be proud of your perfectionism. It is a flaw. The struggle to avoid failure is a fear-driven, exhausting, stressful way to live. Perfectionism will not lead to high-performance. 

High performance comes from embracing your fears. From confronting failure. From be-friending your imperfection. 

“The baker can’t simply live for the look of amazement on the faces of those who behold his latest creation. There has to be some joy in actually baking the cake.” 

- Ta-Nehisi Coates