If I wanted to be perfect, I would have quit a long time ago. My fitness, my business, and my personal life—all are far from perfection.

Sometimes, I miss workouts and don’t hit my macros. Most of the time, I put a ton of effort into work that doesn’t go viral. And all-too-often, I have no real answer to the question, “How are you still single?”

Years ago, I would have let my imperfection bother me. But now I know it’s okay. I know that imperfections are a gift (hat tip, Brené Brown).

In fact, life isn’t rich in spite of our imperfections. It’s enriched because of them. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

As a metric of success, perfection is doomed to fail us. But the worst part is that we feel like it’s our fault. Like we fell short. Like we’re not enough.

In reality, we haven’t failed perfection. Perfection has failed us.

Not Even Perfection Can Be Perfect

It’s funny, really. Perfection is an imperfect metric. That sneaky hypocrite.

Being perfect is binary. A yes or a no. Pass or fail. But here’s the thing—that’s not how life works. Life isn’t measured on a binary scale. Life’s about progress. About improvement. About getting better.

Day after day. Month after month. Year after year.

Personal growth, development, and fulfillment all come on the coattails of progress. Not perfection. Imperfections enable the progress upon which we can build fulfilling lives.

Progress > Perfection

Always.

What are your thoughts about perfection and progression? I’d love to hear them. The conversation’s already started over on Facebook and Instagram. Can’t wait to hear from you.