We judge people on their actions. We look at their history, accomplishments, qualifications, and experiences, and then we want that person in our lives. We rarely consider what the person thinks of themselves. A good builder is good, not because they say and believe themselves to be good, but because they create sturdy, reliable, and safe houses.

Yet, when we judge ourselves, we do so based on momentary feelings. We may be positive, believing ourselves to be a paragon of beauty, virtue, and capability. Or we may be negative, believing ourselves to be total failures, unworthy of love and respect. These judgements are rarely accurate. We are too close to the subject matter, and our egos have a vested interest in keeping itself protected. We have the capability to justify anything. To distort reality such that our actions become the cornerstone of morality, truth, and rightness. When we acknowledge our shortcomings, we are far more forgiving of those shortcomings in ourselves than in others.

The desire to ‘make it perfect’ makes complete sense. You want every aspect as good as possible, because having it that way would ensure that the business will run optimally. You want to take pride in your work, and to know that you put in 100% effort, that you worked and worked and worked until the vision in your mind was turned into reality. Unfortunately, this approach simply won’t work.

Perfection doesn’t exist. The closer you come, the harder each incremental step becomes.