Balance

Summary – 100% may not be the best thing

  • To be the perfect husband
  • Achieving 100% in all test
  • Finishing up all works assigned

I’m sure we had all heard some version of those words.. The fact is we had been bombarded with ideas that the perfect way is the only best way. Being a semi-perfectionist (I know there’s no such thing), I am totally agree with this.

But

Life is all about compromise. We get one thing and we will lose other thing. The best way is to find a balance between the two. When you are a perfectionist, you will more than often will get what you want – Perfection. You will get 100% in all your exams, or you can finish all works assigned without fail. This may lead to promotion, better life etc.

But what can you possibly lose? What will you have to sacrifice?

I’m afraid one obvious answer is that you will suffer more stress in your whole life. That’s sort of the price you will have to pay to consistently be the best in what you do.

Wouldn’t it be better to achieve 90% without any stress at all? Or finish 90% of the works assigned with some extra time to play with your children? or a husband who can’t cook but never fail to eat at home every night.

Perfection is really all about achieving 100%. And there’s only one number to get which is 100. However if you aim to achieve over 90% (not perfect), you have a wider number to aim for. 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97,98, 99, 100. Don’t you agree it will be 10 times less stressful than aiming for 100%?

Disclaimer – Aiming for 10% is also not perfect, but what’s the point of aiming if you are aiming for lower goals. I personally think that 90% is the best way to go.

– I wonder –
Is there any perfectionist in the house?

——- Personal Note ——–
I’m not sure about you. But most of the time, when I am not aiming for 100%, I usually will do better than when I aim for perfection. My studies for example, the more stress I am, the more difficult it usually be for me to study. Do you have the same experience?

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This post has 11 comments.


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  1. filantera`
    25 Mar 08 8:27 am

    yeap
    me sometime being virgo, sometime i am perfectionist.

    but, not all the time.

    agree…
    sometime,
    we may have
    a gud salary but not a gud boss
    a gud salary and a gud boss but not a gud subordinate
    a gud salary and a gud boss and a gud subordinate but far from home
    etc etc

  2. 25 Mar 08 11:01 am

    true, it’s hard to be a perfectionist.
    being perfect is boring. yela kan, cuba bayangkan, rupa lawa, pandai pulak tu, mewah, baik hati, bla bla bla… tipu la kan kalo org camni takde kekurangan.
    I’m one perfectionist, but only on things that I love. mostly, yg lain2 tu, buat ala2 kadar jek 🙂

  3. 25 Mar 08 5:29 pm

    filantera – We just can’t have everything right? 🙂

    I’m still clueless evertime you mentioned how virgo you are, what does that mean by the way?

    azuwachan – that’s a good way of being a perfectionist. Selective perfectionist 🙂 hehe I bet you are doing your best at anklung

  4. 25 Mar 08 6:03 pm

    it’s very well to be a perfectionist but what happens if you fail to be perfect? Can a perfectionist accept failure in himself?

  5. banji
    25 Mar 08 10:20 pm

    kutucat – that’s the thing, perfectionist can never accept failure. Which is why the stress that comes with it will be unbearable..

    Hopefully by aiming for 90%, the stress factor can be eliminated 🙂

    Welcome to the blog kutucat..

  6. 25 Mar 08 10:40 pm

    sy stuju sgat2 ngn prinsip pemikiran nih..semua benda dlm kehidupan kita.takan ade nye ye perfect..btul tk?
    baik cinta, baik kerjaya, baik hobby
    apa yg penting, ianya memuaskan hati kita..cukuplah.sudah memadai

  7. 26 Mar 08 1:34 pm

    salam uncle..

    i’m not a perfectionist but sometimes in a certain case, i do. when it comes to presenting our work to others, i do. for example, when designing a programme book, posters, and wut so ever…i do.

    but when it comes to my individual work, i am not. hehe..i do not know why but i usually am like that.

    however, watching a perfectionist doing his or her works can kill me. i do not really like to watch them doing their works coz for me, the faster is the better.

    but then again, it depends-on what works you are doing…when it involves others, it can be reconsidered but if it’s only for your own, hmm…i don’t think so..

    🙂

  8. banji
    26 Mar 08 7:24 pm

    siakapfish – betul jugak tu, yg penting kita puas hati. tak guna stress sekadar nak dapat 1% lagi, sedangkan kita dah dapat 99%.

    kena pandai bersyukur 🙂 blog dah open for visitor ke?

    fairuzniza – salam fairuzniza, I believe we are categorized as semi-perfectionist, or selective perfectionist.. (suka2 je buat term)

    Hm one thing I noticed, we tend to give priority to other people, but not to ourselves. All our need can be postponed. or be done in another time. don’t you agree?

  9. ruhi
    26 Mar 08 11:28 pm

    like fairuzniza,when it comes to certain case,usually things that i expert with,i’ll become very particular with every single thing. but when the task involve something that i dont really like,i dont really care how the end result will look like,as long as i’ve finished the task for example,when the task is to write an essay, i just simply write it,as long as i can finish it.but when it comes to technical drawing,i’ll spend my time to come out with the best technical drawing that i can produce.really enjoy using AUTOCAD for 2D drawing CATIA for 3D drawing.hmmm but now,,, i wonder, how housewives can use autocad or catia to help their work at home? heheh

    btw bro.i just found a new info regarding ‘BANJI’ not sure whether u already know it.
    “”Adapun untuk Bomoh Badin yang gagal ia mengusir tentera Siam dengan sihir hantunya; Parameswara telah memberi BANJI itu hadiah sebatang penyapu lidi.””
    petikan dr sebuah novel karya faizal tehrani

    glosari
    Banji – Pawang
    he he he banji now is also known as pawang or witch doctor (tul ke in english ni)

  10. 27 Mar 08 2:22 am

    salam uncle.

    hm, yup..i totally agree. but mebi for some people je kot. memang ada some of us yang lebih pentingkan orang lain berbanding diri sendiri… 🙂

    and maybe, you are one of them.. 🙂

    but it’s ok, it’s noble, though…aite?

  11. banji
    27 Mar 08 7:45 pm

    ruhi – I’m a witch doctor? 🙂 more like “charmed” kind of witch I hope hehe

    actually if we google banji, there are a lot of description. some referring to anime character etc, In the end, it’s how it meant to you and to me that matters, right?

    I also love working on autocad. At one time, I almost did the whole design just by keyboard 🙂 I’m not sure I can do that now

    fairuzniza – At this moment, the one person that is my utmost priority is the mrs. 🙂 Who else?

    But, of course, we must always find some time for ourselves. If not, we will go dry hehe

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