NOTES FROM THE AWARENESS: 464

Precision often doesn’t matter.

Please reflect and share. How does this play out for you?

We’ve been told—usually when we were children, by responsible adults—that it’s important to be accurate. And certainly this is true in some endeavors like accounting, legal depositions, scientific research, and explosives. There are times when lack of precision can have major consequences.

But in many day-to-day matters, it just isn’t as critical. If we add too few chocolate chips to the dough, our cookies may turn out a bit bland but no one will die from eating them. If we fail to park our vehicle centered between the yellow lines in the parking lot, we likely only risk annoying others. Attempting to be precise in all matters will leave us uptight and anxious. What is important to understand is when precision matters and when it doesn’t. If we’re in doubt, we can ask ourselves what is the worst thing that could happen if we’re not entirely accurate.

Today’s message asks me to be aware of any perfectionist tendencies and how they affect the quality of my life. I will feel freer and more relaxed when I only make the effort to be precise when it really counts. I give myself the gift of allowing myself to be imprecise.

How about you? Is precision important to you?