Printable Wall Art -Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work
How many of us heard the saying, “practice makes perfect,” growing up? Whether it be from your parents, grandparents, instructors, teachers, etc, it is safe to assume most of us have heard it.
And if you haven’t – congratulations! Now you have. 😉
Pleasure in the job, Perfection in the work
I don’t know if practice can make perfect, especially if you don’t like the task or activity you keep practicing.
I do know, however, practicing can bring about a level of precision making your execution appear perfect. I mean, if you do something long enough and consistently enough, there’s a high probability you are going to get better and even great at doing whatever it is you are doing.
But being able to execute a task successfully is not the same as being perfect. Success is only half of the story.
Your experience and satisfaction before, during, and after said activity tells the other half.
If an activity is not fun or enjoyable or pleasurable, then the end product or result will not be perfect to you. It may not even be successful to you. Your emotional or psychological takeaway is just as important as the actual end result.
This is what makes something perfect – your response from start to end.
Put Happy First
Neil Pasricha, author of The Happiness Equation, says to be successful one must be happy first. His formula goes: be happy >> great work >> big success.
This formula is an updated version of Aristotle’s proclamation: “pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
What both individuals are trying to get across is if you like / love / enjoy what it is you are doing, perfection will start to show itself in the work. Both to you and to others.
Doing great work won’t necessarily make you a big success nor will it make you happy. But if you put happiness or pleasure first, you can always be successful and you can always find a level of perfection meaningful to you.