Perfection?

Today at a party, the parent of the birthday child observed that another, visiting child, was in tears because the bubble tail on the miniature bubble balloon I had made for her had burst.



When I make balloon toys for children I always say that if they break they should sing ~ ‘Da da-da da daaa daaa’ and resist the impulse to cry.

The mother explained that this crying child was:
a) robust, as she was the youngest child in her family
b) a perfectionist which is why the burst part of the balloon dog was so upsetting.

I responded that if she were a perfectionist then she would suffer constantly as she went through life as things were seldom perfect.

The mother was having none of that defeatist talk; ‘there is nothing wrong with wanting perfection’. I agreed but added that the little girl would need to find a way to respond and to deal with things when they were less than perfect.

Days later an elderly and most experienced magician friend declared that he would never perform again. Teach and coach others, yes; but not perform himself. The reason was that when he performed he never reached the level of perfection that he sought.

I find this sad as there is joy and fun to be had on the part of the spectators if the performance is good. Yes. yet more fun if the performance is outstanding.

This magician is denying himself and his spectators that chance. That chance will not pass his way again.