Perfection isms 5
You’d think “you decide” would be the end of the perfectionism conversation, but no.
Continuing on in my series “Perfectionism: A Perfectionist’s Musings That May Never End,” I’d like to expand upon the qualities I usually choose to strive for instead of perfection.
The first one I’m sure you’ve heard a zillion times – excellence vs. perfection. But have you heard of arete?
Well, it’s pretty much the same thing, but I’ll elaborate since it’s one of my favorite things ever. Not only does a version of the word also refer to “a sharp mountain ridge” (my favorite landscape) and is an ancient Greek concept (I happen to be part Greek), but it means excellence, goodness, the highest quality state, full realization of potential, virtue, all the cool stuff. It’s about the pursuit of excellence in everything we do, aiming towards our highest potential consistently (in a feel-good way vs. stressful way), and becoming and leading with our best selves. A post by Scott H. Young even has the title “Arete: The Meaning of Life.” Need I say more?
What’s interesting is some places actually list perfection as a synonym...but I suppose it depends on your definition of perfection (see previous blog). It’s said that in the past, living a life of arete included physical, mental, and spiritual training. This is where I see the clearest difference between perfection and arete – perfection to me is more of a result, and arete is a journey of everyday actions. You may be working on perfecting something, but right now you can show up with arete.
So…what else is there really to list? The concept of arete is so encompassing, I realized while writing this post that everything else I had in my notes falls under its umbrella. Below is a non-exhaustive but fairly solid outline of my approach to “If not perfection, then what?”:
What I usually strive towards instead of perfection:
Arete - excellence/highest potential/goodness/highest quality state
Doing things that feel right
Values alignment
Flow state
High energy and excitement
Authenticity
Helping others
Courageousness
Improvement
Feeling good
Ease
Fulfilling my “why” - passions/callings/purpose
Action/forward momentum
Shortcut: WW_D?
A practical “shortcut” to living the arete path without having to memorize all of these options? For me, it’s when I tap into the hero version of myself and ask “What would <insert hero name> do?” That essentially covers all the bases and works in all contexts. A persona isn’t necessary, but it’s very helpful to know the qualities of the best you/how you feel at your best so that you can lead with that energy in any circumstance. (More on this to come in future posts…) Fun fact: The last name of my hero persona is Ari, aka Arete 😉
Yeah. So obviously, it’s a concept that lights me up, similarly to back when grade school me first saw Maslow’s hierarchy, eyes widening as I gazed longingly at the heavenly pinnacle…which, by the way, Maslow apparently revised, placing self-transcendence above self-actualization (in case you needed to know).
Anyhow, I personally have found no greater fulfillment than pursuing arete, so maybe try it out.
(ESPECIALLY if you have no idea what your passions, callings, personal legend, whatever are. Who is the hero version of yourself, and what would they do right now? It’s kind of a neat mind trick because eventually…the two versions become one.)
Now before I finally end this series, I can’t help but spin the perfectionism image a bit…it’s too tempting.