Over 50 years ago, the Miami Dolphins did something many thought would be impossible: they completed a perfect season, going 17-0 and winning Super Bowl VII.
Their history is well known, but an important aspect of the Dolphins’ run is that it has never been replicated. A few teams have come close, but none have reached the summit of the football mountaintop like Miami did in 1972. Despite this, players still lace up their cleats and run back out on the field every season, searching for that pinnacle.
I know not everyone is a sports fan, but this strive for perfection is evident off the gridiron as well. In school, we aim for a perfect 4.0 GPA. In life, we seek that ideal person to spend the rest of our life with. We want every day to be perfect, whether it involves the weather or the activities we partake in.
You might not want to hear it, but stop striving for perfection.
Take the Dolphins as an example. Throughout 103 years of the NFL, they remain the only team to achieve a flawless record. If you do the math, the rate of undefeated teams is less than one percent. Perfection is the exception, not the norm.
Aside from sports, I’m sure students can relate to the visceral desire to submit the perfect paper. You get all your citations in order, double-check the spacing and margins and have every last word typed out. You read through your paper one last time, and suddenly that paragraph you wrote doesn’t sound quite right. It gets frantically deleted, and you start the sentences over from scratch.
Instead of replacing your hard work with something that will probably get you the same grade anyway, I encourage you to just hit submit. Perfection is an aspiration to many, but it’s almost impossible to reach, rendering the journey to get there unworthy of your time.
I might be the worst offender of this very phenomenon. I’ve had articles for The Scout that I felt could’ve been better if I just changed that one single word. As soon as I submit it, I want to take it back and add more content or change the layout. Yet, after it’s sent in, that weight is lifted off my shoulders and more often than not, the article turns out fine anyway.
Now in my senior year, this message is even clearer as I search for a job after graduation. I find the job listing, cater my résumé to the company I’m applying to, draft a unique cover letter and triple-check my work for any errors before I send it off. Despite the attention to detail, I often never hear back. Let me tell you, nothing is more infuriating than getting an automated email denying you a position at a company you applied to three months ago.
The time and effort I wasted on those applications taught me it doesn’t matter if I think my work is perfect. It may be the best work I’ve ever done, but someone on the receiving end can have a different opinion and all that work meant nothing. Instead of trying to make every aspect of the applications perfect, I should’ve just hit submit.
None of us need to be perfect to be happy. None of us need to be perfect to get the job we want, get good grades or find someone to marry. So, stop searching for perfection; instead, do whatever you feel is good enough.
The next time you think your paper or assignment needs that one extra piece to make it perfect, just hit submit. It would make the Dolphins happy.
Nice read. Advice that can be true for all aspects of life. Enjoyed reading. Keep up the good work Mason.