May I say with all humility and honesty, I used to be what I call a "Christian perfectionist". Without going into a lengthy detail, I came to learn that trying to attain some kind of perfection was just a reason to be competitive and a way to judge others because of my feelings of not being good enough from a faith perspective. I now understand that trying to improve is the only compassionate way, both to myself and others. I explain this to other Christians when the opportunity arises, but it is a hard sell to them because we've been told for a long time how to believe.
Not Perfect, Just Better
31–40 of 40 posts
Re: Not Perfect, Just Better
#32May I say with all humility and honesty, I used to be what I call a "Christian perfectionist". Without going into a lengthy detail, I came to learn that trying to attain some kind of perfection was just a reason to be competitive and a way to judge others because of my feelings of not being good enough from a faith perspective. I now understand that trying to improve is the only compassionate way, both to myself and…
We are all already fallen. Best to accept and care for it
Re: Not Perfect, Just Better
#33Something I will add which relates to the examples in the post (gym, business, relationships) is that big things happen with lots of small steps over time. You can't do a years worth of workouts on Jan 1 and be fit for the year. These things take daily effort and cycles of work and recovery to happen. That desire for perfection can also be a desire to be done. To have it finished and get closure. It's hard to accept…
Reminds me of a quote from Bojack Horseman I think about quite often (in the show it's in reference to running): "It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day. That's the hard part".
I think it should be more like: "Every day you get faster/stronger/better. But every day will be just as hard as your first day, and you gotta do it every day."
Re: Not Perfect, Just Better
#34May I say with all humility and honesty, I used to be what I call a "Christian perfectionist". Without going into a lengthy detail, I came to learn that trying to attain some kind of perfection was just a reason to be competitive and a way to judge others because of my feelings of not being good enough from a faith perspective. I now understand that trying to improve is the only compassionate way, both to myself and…
I appreciate you sharing this, thank you. Always good to see another believer on HN.
I did similar too. Amongst the dozens of despicable things, one of the precious few good things to come out of a divorce is the new appreciation and deep understanding of God accepting us just as we are. Married or not, perfect or not (mostly not!), guilty or not. He pursues us, loves us, and improves us, slowly, over time.
Re: Not Perfect, Just Better
#35Would be just better with capital letters.
i don't know if I'm alone in this, but i find this style easier to read - find it less intense in a way. maybe it's an adaptive thing. maybe i'm just weird. when i read caps i can almost feel the author's resentment at having had to reach for one of those shift keys and break up their typing rhythm, when without them text can flow so easily.
I sometimes like to read or write all-lower. Oftentimes, for me, it signifies a more casual air, so I tend to do it in text chats more often than not. I find the font and size in the article more annoying than the all-lower, personally -- if it was in HN-style 12pt Verdana, I don't know if I'd have noticed.
Re: Not Perfect, Just Better
#36Something I will add which relates to the examples in the post (gym, business, relationships) is that big things happen with lots of small steps over time. You can't do a years worth of workouts on Jan 1 and be fit for the year. These things take daily effort and cycles of work and recovery to happen. That desire for perfection can also be a desire to be done. To have it finished and get closure. It's hard to accept…
Reminds me of a quote from Bojack Horseman I think about quite often (in the show it's in reference to running): "It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day. That's the hard part".
I have that quote printed out and hanging in my work room. With the running baboon next to it, smiling, looking at his watch and the sun shining behind him. I've never watched that show, but the quote hits home and was welcome during hard times.
Re: Not Perfect, Just Better
#37Would be just better with capital letters.
i don't know if I'm alone in this, but i find this style easier to read - find it less intense in a way. maybe it's an adaptive thing. maybe i'm just weird. when i read caps i can almost feel the author's resentment at having had to reach for one of those shift keys and break up their typing rhythm, when without them text can flow so easily.
Ah, I realise that it's a current stylistic trend but I've got to say that I really hate reading all lowercase text.
I find it harder to read and it comes across as the author using a passive aggressive tone where they can't be bothered to form sentences properly.
Probably the best way to describe it is, itwouldbelikesomeonenotbotheringtousespacesandexpectingyoutomakesenseofit. It makes communication harder.
Re: Not Perfect, Just Better
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure I'd be comfortable, calling it "disgusting." It's different from the one I tend to apply, in my own work. I used to work for a famous Japanese imaging corporation. Their brand was pretty much synonymous with "Quality." They got that way, by practicing Perfection as a religion. It could be very, very tough, to deal with, but it gave me a great appreciation for a Quality mindset, in my own work. The result…
How does one practice perfection without succumbing to overoptimistic expectations and the burnout follows?
They use perfection as a target, and any deviation is considered a national emergency. They will have all-day meetings, with screaming matches, over whether or not to release with a known issue.
It is a lot of pressure. Not for the faint of heart. They are demanding as hell. Their testing/QA is crazy. 3,000-line Excel punchlists. If even one item on that list fails, the whole shooting match is sent back.
You can't argue with the results, though. They have been selling very expensive optical gear, for over 100 years, and people base their entire careers on this gear.
That said, I think they are really struggling, these days, and I believe that their conservatism and rigidity play a big part in that.
Re: Not Perfect, Just Better
#39May I say with all humility and honesty, I used to be what I call a "Christian perfectionist". Without going into a lengthy detail, I came to learn that trying to attain some kind of perfection was just a reason to be competitive and a way to judge others because of my feelings of not being good enough from a faith perspective. I now understand that trying to improve is the only compassionate way, both to myself and…
Glad you found your peace. Indeed, continuous self improvement is the fundamental concept in Christianity, constantly shooting for but never attaining the ideal of Jesus. It is a very difficult concept to teach, and I think most people get lost along the way during their “fake it until you make it” phase.
Re: Not Perfect, Just Better
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you provide some rough statistics of each group size from your personal experience? Not asking to trap you but I am genuinely interested whether in practice it is useful to focus on the underlying cause. Intentionally sloppy vs. inexperienced/tired/overworked/ADHD sloppy
Intentionally sloppy is someone I would categorise as being persistent sloppy, and showing no interest in improving themselves, but also a resistance to advice, and/or feedback. It sounds silly, because "who wouldn't wanna improve?", but sometimes they can't tell the difference between saying/wishing it and doing it. I'd say I probably had a handful of such colleagues out of roughly ~70 devs I've worked with. They we…
Thank you for a detailed response. In my limited experience I don't think I ever met anyone who genuinely didn't give a fuck. Some people were slower than others, some had a "5 pm and I am off" attitude (but without dropping work on others on exit), some were stuck in their old ways of doing things but no one was actually malicious.
Like you said, it is a gradient. We are all a bit different, in my work it was much more beneficial to me and everyone involved to just understand each other honestly, without judgement. That way it is much easier for everyone to find a good path to work happily and grow as people.
Some do not want to improve that much and I still think it's ok as long as it doesn't hinder anyone else's work. They may get switched to simpler and less challenging work over time but there's usually plenty of that to go around.