My Missouri Tigers had a huge win this past week in men’s basketball, and I went back to watch the highlight package that the basketball team put together. Mizzou’s coach, Dennis Gates, has a bunch of different sayings he uses. (For instance, his eight core values for success: “Friendship, love, accountability, trust, discipline, unselfishness, enthusiasm, and toughness.”)
But watching the movie, I heard one line I’d never heard before.
Gates: Communication has to be excellent, OK? It has to be excellent. It don’t have to be perfect, it has to be what?
Team: Excellent!
I’ve written a lot — like, so many different things — about perfection. But I love the idea of reframing the concept. For most of us, the goal shouldn’t be around perfection. The goal should be to put in the work, to enjoy doing the work, and to try to do something great.
Aim for perfection and you’ll usually fall short. Aim for excellence and you have a chance to do excellent work along the way.