All Progress Doesn't Have To Be Perfect

If you're like most people, you like to do a good job. We all feel that satisfaction at the end of the day when we know we've made good progress. But what happens when all the pieces don't fall neatly into place? This issue has been raising its head over the last month or so for me, and it got me thinking. Why we react in a certain way towards certain challenges. Is it a question of learning (how we were taught to do things) or because we have a plan to follow and we must keep rigidly to it? In this instance, I have a plan and I like to complete each step in sequence to make measured progress towards my goals. This approach is fine until one or more pieces won't fit in place. Now this can mean one of two things; you either find a way 'round the obstacle and re-visit when you have a workable solution, or you put things on hold (me) and wait until you can resolve the issue. But as we all know putting things on hold is not good. A little unproductive time soon adds up really quickly until motivation has slipped unnoticed out the door!

The solution? Get on with something you can succeed at whilst keeping in mind those unresolved issues which can be fixed later as and when you have the solutions. This way you still make progress on your project as a whole, whilst maintaining your enthusiasm and keeping the bigger picture in mind. Any progress is still progress, right?

Just think for a moment of the number of times you've put an important project on hold because you've come across an obstacle which prevented orderly progress. There are many. With this approach you can still make progress towards your goal(s), and as long as you're still striving towards your objective, you will get there. Bear in mind that an aircraft never flies true to its objective - even on autopilot. it has to constantly make alterations to compensate for external factors. We must do the same - above all keep going!


"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed." ~ Booker T Washington.