on imperfection
My good friend Britt shared this quote via swissmiss yesterday:
“Authenticity is about imperfection. And authenticity is a very human quality. To be authentic is to be at peace with your imperfections. The great leaders are not the strongest, they are the ones who are honest about their weaknesses. The great leaders are not the smartest; they are the ones who admit how much they don’t know. The great leaders can’t do everything; they are the ones who look to others to help them. Great leaders don’t see themselves as great; they see themselves as human.”
~ Simon Sinek
Which lead me to read the original post that inspired the quote (go ahead and read it, I’ll wait) … I’d not heard of Sinek before but the post has sat with me long enough that I’ve ignored whatever else I had planned to write for the week and post this.
I’ve long been in love with wabi sabi even if I have a difficulty accepting imperfection in my own work and life…
I am working on it. It’s not easy.
I post photos of my workspace even if it’s super messy. I didn’t grow up with a house that was magazine perfect, and I don’t want a home like that now. Earlier this week I finally started inking in the moleskine diary I started in January. I’d been writing in pencil all these months!
I have to be begged to publish posts and newsletters that I don’t find perfect in every detail (including this one). Yes, they’re good enough, but I always want more. (Newsletter signups can be found at PennyWise Consulting, LLC and little acorn creations.)
The current president of my alma mater, Debora Spar, has a new book Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection. I’ve not read it yet, but there’s an excerpt available at glamour. I also recently read Lean In. I’m still trying to figure out what I think about both books (even just the bits I’ve read so far). I found this article, by a fellow Barnard alumna (Vanessa Garcia, I don’t know her), “Why I Won’t Lean In” interesting and adding to my things to think about.
Tara Swiger is hosting an Exploration Party (here’s the invite) to remind us that we are explorers already. I wasn’t planning on attending the party, but I am indeed exploring imperfection!
I’m honestly not sure what I think of any of this or what I’m currently exploring in this post, but everything here has me thinking. That’s a good thing.
But please, don’t confuse allowing imperfection and being honest with the need to make something good happen.