Pragmatic Perfectionist

I used to think I wasn't anywhere close to a perfectionist because I am at heart a lazy layabout but then I started realizing there were some things that I was willing to expend huge time and energy to get right.  There were things when I could hear my Grannie's voice saying, "I'll know" and I would have to get it right.

Let me explain.  My Grannie was my one of my best friends, a kindred spirit of the first order.  From my Grannie I got my eyes, my short waist and my ability to crochet and do other textile crafts.  She would sit and crochet every available second of every day.  I remember her throwing things on to cook for lunch (which in her house was the big meal of the day) and then running to her chair to crochet a few stitches before she had to go stir something or turn something.  Sometimes, if she had to keep a particularly close eye on things, she would even take her project to the table just so she could get a few more stitches made.

In the evenings, she would sit comfortably and it was all crochet all evening.  What fascinated me, though, was when she would be making a huge doily or table cloth in the fine thread.  She could be on round 100 and find a mistake on round 22 and she would rip that sucker out all the way to that mistake and start over.  When the time for each stitch was so precious, I could never understand why she would do that.  After all, she'd worked 78 rows past that mistake and never noticed it, why would it make a difference?  No one would know.  That's when she would replay, "I'd know." There was just no answer to that and no argument to be made.

To me for all my years, that was the definition of perfectionism.  I'd know.

Now me, I'm the queen of the "design element," or the incorporating of mistakes into a design so that it becomes a purposeful part of the whole.  Most of the time I can do that but there are certain times when it just won't do. For all my free flowing creativity, there are certain circumstances where I could hear my Grannie's voice and I have to do it right.

How do I know the difference between what matters and what doesn't? It's usually when I'm tempted to leave something because I'm being lazy even when I know that it will hurt the design.

I devised the phrase "Pragmatic Perfectionist" because there are tons of things in life that just don't matter if they're not perfect.  The sky isn't going to fall if my kitchen floor isn't perfect all the time (which is a really fortunate thing).  The world won't come to an end if a recipe doesn't turn out perfectly and the rice is a little crunchy.  I won't die if someone doesn't like how my hair looks.

Perfectionism can be a prison.  Not everything matters. But some things do.  Those things will be different for each of us.  What are the things that matter to you?  Those things that are worth taking the time and effort to make a perfect as you're able to.  That doesn't mean perfect as they could ever be done.  It means you use your time, effort and skills to make it as right as YOU can.  That's where the pragmatism comes in.

Pragmatism
noun

1.

character or conduct that emphasizes practicality.

2.

a philosophical movement or system having various forms, but generally stressing practical consequences as constituting the essential criterion in determining meaning, truth, or value.

For me, the things that matter are how I treat people, how I communicate and my craft.  I'm free to not be perfect in other areas but in these 3, I want to spend my time, effort and energy.  How about you?