Train the Brave, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 47Forget perfect! Good enough is good enough

Speaking at a medical conference to a room full of surgeons, I was comforted when hundreds of hands went up after I asked who considered themselves a perfectionist. When it comes to operating on my body, fixing the brakes in my car or laying the foundation on my home, I'm all for keeping the bar really high. But given the culture of perfectionism that we live in today, we need to discern between when aiming for perfectionism is serving us and others and when it's not.

In writing this book I've sometimes felt inadequate for the task. I want to write a book that will embolden you to become braver in your work, your relationships and your life. However, I'm well aware of my limitations, my lousy grammar and that I have none of the literary genius of some writers whose books line my shelves. But I write anyway because I know that if I waited until I had a Shakespearean command of the English language, it would never be written. And so I swallow my fear of falling short, embrace my vulnerability and continue typing, all the while reminding myself of one of my favourite life maxims: Done is better than perfect.

DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT.

As you read this now, I'm guessing there may be things you'd also like to do that you haven't because you don't feel you're skilled, or knowledgeable, or capable enough to perform at the level of mastery or success that you'd like. At least not quickly enough!

Let's face it, it's only natural ...