Imperfection
Sometimes it IS all it’s cracked up to be.
I have an ice cream bowl I instinctively use. It’s one of multiples, but I always seem to grab the same one. How do I know it’s the same one? There’s a chip out of it along the rim. Cereal bowl: Same. I also have a few Yetis with wobbles in them from being dropped at some point which I grab all the time.
Then I thought about my car. I stress even when it’s dirty, let alone having a scratch or a dent. But to be honest, I had so much less anxiety over worrying about it being scratched or dented once I noticed the tiniest little rock chip one day while washing it.
The commonality: Comfort and character in imperfection. Lived-in. Unique. Mine.
I’m sure you’ve seen some version “embracing imperfection” on a motivational coffee mug or cross-stitched picture or something. However, there’s a truth in this. The Japanese call this Wabi-sabi: Appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.”
This shouldn’t be confused with providing quality and effort, but striving for something too perfect can lead to things which are clinical and sterile. Perhaps lacking personality. Now with brain surgery, orbital mechanics, and many other things people do – clearly there’s much less margin for error, but I’m sure in each field there’s a equal number of shortcuts and flourishes of non-standard things that lead to successful, if not perfect outcomes and deliverables.
I’ve used this quote before, but I think about it a lot:
“Style is the stuff you get wrong.” — Neil Gaiman
Celebrate and enjoy the imperfections in your professional and personal life.
Thanks for reading!
Recently
Screen: “Skeleton Crew” (Disney+). Star Wars meets the Goonies.
Music: “End of Beginning” (Djo). Turns out “Steve” from Stranger Things has a band and they’re pretty good.
Purchase: “Small Tech Pouch” (Peak Design) - I have the large size for when I travel, but now that I’m going into the office regularly, I needed something more compact to keep those few extra cords and adaptors in. Peak Design has solid quality; I’ve pretty much swapped out all my bags and packing accessories with their stuff at this point.