Foundations need not be perfect, but predisposed to excellence

Foundations need not be perfect, but predisposed to excellence

The mortal enemy of the overthinker and a perfectionist is not starting at all. In a way, the choice of Jesus to build His Church with St. Peter as the rock can provide insights on how we should view excellence and perfection.

Overthinking perfection can paralyze a person. But the wisdom we need is to determine when a certain work or action is sufficient to be called good or even high quality, as well as designing work or action or a system in a way that it could be corrected.

The comforting thing about excellence is that it is not about getting it right right away. Excellence is a journey. And as I begin to grade my students’ works, I reflect again on the meaning of “4.0” or being excellent and exemplary.

Hopefully the learning activities in my courses have become opportunities for me and my students to reflect and rethink and experiment. So that when I give 4.0, it does not suppose to mean “I think you’re perfect already”, but rather, “you’ve demonstrated excellence through iteratively correcting your work, and hence, I’m confident you can do it again outside the course”.

Ever since my birthday, I have been more fixated with what “becoming” means. It is uncomfortable to think that no human state is permanent, therefore, there’s no such thing as “perfection”. But there are infinite opportunities to self-correct, to experiment, to try again.

Isn’t that more romantic and more attainable to think about? The infinite opportunities to be a better version. The infinite opportunities for rebirth.

Matthew 16:13-19. Upon this rock I will build my Church

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 180: JUNE 29, 2022]