The myth of perfection

The quicker you bust this myth, the faster you can get on track to live your dreams and be a better coach

No matter where you are on your coaching journey, chances are the myth of perfection is holding you back.

You know what we're talking about, right? The myth of perfection is handed to all of us by teachers, parents and workplaces. It's that shiny gold thing shimmering just out of reach that for whatever reason we just can't grasp.

We're not enough.

So we sit tight and don't do anything. We wait, because we're afraid of not being be to live up to whatever we or someone else in our life sees as perfection.

Roll on a few years and we're still in the trap of waiting, to meet the perfect person, land the perfect job, have the perfect diet or car or modular sofa. Guess what? It never happens.

That's because perfection doesn't exist.

It's just some BS we've been sold.

One of her biggest regrets so far is not prioritising her dreams.

A lot of people live that life, live that world," he added, quoting philosopher Henry William David Thoreau: "Most men and women lead a life of quiet desperation and they end up dying with their song unsung.

A lot of the pressure comes from the belief we have to have all our stuff together, which in TCI's world prevents people from becoming coaches.

There's this idea, 'How can you coach someone if you're not perfect?' yet nobody's perfect, if you have this idea you have to be perfect before you can make a difference then you'll never make a difference because you'll never be perfect. It's just the way it is.

My favourite joke is that I'll be on my deathbed, trying to work something out, 'I've nearly got it', oops, dead.

We're always going to be searching for more, figure it out, it's part of who we are. And when we embrace that and we're okay with it, we actually make a great coach. I was expelled from two schools growing up and failed Year 10, then essentially drank alcohol and took drugs for about five years. I did nothing except washing dishes in pubs but back then I was doing the best I had with the tools I had. I didn’t know about resourcefulness and making good decisions ... so I can't look back at myself and say I should have done better. So when I started at TCI I was saying I want to learn about me. I said yes with low self esteem. The powerful thing as a coach about acknowledging the myth of perfection is that your clients will relate to it.

Never aim for perfection, it just stresses people out, how to become a better public speaker could also be of help. And then stressed people get worried and don't take action. Your mission, starting today? Get committed to crossing out perfection.

MATT LAVARS

One of Australia's leading coaches, trainers and speakers, and head facilitator at The Coaching Institute. In between mentoring thousands of coaches and leaders all around Australasia and helping others build incredible culture, Matt is passionate about fitness and music. His healthy office lunches whipped up in five minutes are the stuff of legend