Perfectionism Quotes

“All that matters is that we try. pg. 79”
― Erica Bauermeister, No Two Persons

“The search for perfection is a subtle drug. It draws the mind along circuitous routes, deeper and deeper into itself, until nothing can be seen except the ideal. Desire blinds one to purpose, and thus renders true perfection impossible.”
― Joshua Reynolds, Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix

“Hitherto I have used the words imperfect and perfect merely to distinguish between work grossly unskilful, and work executed with
average precision and science; and I have been pleading that any degree of unskilfulness should be admitted, so only that the labourer’s mind had room for expression. But, accurately speaking, no good work whatever can be perfect, and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art.

This for two reasons, both based on everlasting laws. The first, that no great man ever stops working till he has reached his point of failure: that is to say, his mind is always far in advance of his powers of execution, and the latter will now and then give way in trying to follow it;... And therefore, if we are to have great men working at all, or less men doing their best, the work will be imperfect, however beautiful. Of human work none but what is bad can be perfect, in its own bad way.

The second reason is, that imperfection is in some sort essential to all that we know of life. It is the sign of life in a mortal body, that is to say, of a state of progress and change. Nothing that lives is, or can be, rigidly perfect; part of it is decaying, part nascent. The foxglove blossom—a third part bud, a third part past, a third part in full bloom—is a type of the life of this world. And in all things that live there are certain irregularities and deficiencies which are not only signs of life, but sources of beauty. No human face is exactly the same in its lines on each side, no leaf perfect in its lobes, no branch in its symmetry. All admit irregularity as they imply change; and to banish imperfection is to destroy expression, to check exertion, to paralyze vitality. All things are literally better, lovelier, and more beloved for the imperfections which have been divinely appointed, that the law of human life may be Effort, and the law of human judgment, Mercy.

Accept this then for a universal law, that neither architecture nor any other noble work of man can be good unless it be imperfect; and let us be prepared for the otherwise strange fact, which we shall discern clearly as we approach the period of the Renaissance, that the first cause of the fall of the arts of Europe was a relentless requirement of perfection, incapable alike either of being silenced by veneration for greatness, or softened into forgiveness of simplicity.”
― John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice

“Hitherto I have used the words imperfect and perfect merely to distinguish between work grossly unskilful, and work executed with average precision and science; and I have been pleading that any degree of unskilfulness should be admitted, so only that the labourer’s mind had room for expression. But, accurately speaking, no good work whatever can be perfect, and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art.

This for two reasons, both based on everlasting laws. The first, that no great man ever stops working till he has reached his point of failure: that is to say, his mind is always far in advance of his powers of execution, and the latter will now and then give way in trying to follow it;... And therefore, if we are to have great men working at all, or less men doing their best, the work will be imperfect, however beautiful. Of human work none but what is bad can be perfect, in its own bad way.

The second reason is, that imperfection is in some sort essential to all that we know of life. It is the sign of life in a mortal body, that is to say, of a state of progress and change. Nothing that lives is, or can be, rigidly perfect; part of it is decaying, part nascent. The foxglove blossom—a third part bud, a third part past, a third part in full bloom—is a type of the life of this world. And in all things that live there are certain irregularities and deficiencies which are not only signs of life, but sources of beauty. No human face is exactly the same in its lines on each side, no leaf perfect in its lobes, no branch in its symmetry. All admit irregularity as they imply change; and to banish imperfection is to destroy expression, to check exertion, to paralyze vitality. All things are literally better, lovelier, and more beloved for the imperfections which have been divinely appointed, that the law of human life may be Effort, and the law of human judgment, Mercy.

Accept this then for a universal law, that neither architecture nor any other noble work of man can be good unless it be imperfect; and let us be prepared for the otherwise strange fact, which we shall discern clearly as we approach the period of the Renaissance, that the first cause of the fall of the arts of Europe was a relentless requirement of perfection, incapable alike either of being silenced by veneration for greatness, or softened into forgiveness of simplicity.”
― John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice

“Just because we are something better than birds or bees, our buildings must confess that we have not reached the perfection we can imagine, and can not rest in the condition we have attained. If we pretend to have reached either perfection or satisfaction, we have degraded either ourselves or our work.”
― John Ruskin, On Art and Life

“For now, make something, learn something, and move on. Or you’ll be buried waist-deep in the big muddy of perfectionism.”
― Jerry Saltz, How to Be an Artist

“The perfect country doesn't exist, the perfect consciousness doesn't exist, the perfect cosmos doesn't exist.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Tum Dunya Tek Millet: Greatest Country on Earth is Earth

“I'd tried so hard. Given my all to be the perfect Elsie he wanted and..." It almost hurts too much to say it.

"You gave him a perfect version of you, and he still didn't want you," Jack says prosaically. Almost detached. Like I'm a gravitational singularity that can be explained, cataloged, predicted. I'm momentarily stunned by how right he is. Then I'm surprised that I'm even surprised.

"And what you took away from it was that you had to try harder.”
― Ali Hazelwood, Love, Theoretically

“But what is perfection? It is the vanishing point at the end of an endless road, it is the mirage that continuously moves out of our reach, it is the last rung of a circular ladder.”
― Paolo Maurensig, Canone inverso

“It's impossible to actually be the best. Even if you dedicate your life to one discipline, you will likely never reach number one. There will always be someone more skilled and someone less skilled than you - that's just life.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“Being effective matters more than being the best.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“Perfection is imperfections we've made peace with.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“we won't love you if you're perfect”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

“Flawless life is fragile life,
Flawed life is resilient life.
Greatest resilience is self-correction,
the seed of true civilization,
Flaws aware are instrument of flight.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Right or Human: 300 Limericks of Inclusion

“I do not need to find and follow the perfect plan. (What a relief !) What I truly need is people I can follow—older sisters, brothers, mentors, spiritual friends who have been this way before.”
― Karen Wright Marsh, Wake Up to Wonder: 22 Invitations to Amazement in the Everyday

“Sonnet of Flaws (1254)

Seek for literature without flaws,
You'd have no literature.
Seek for culture without flaws,
You'd have no culture.

Seek for science without flaws,
You'd have no science.
Seek for sapiens without flaws,
You'd have no sapiens.

Seek for friends without flaws,
You shall remain friendless.
Seek for humanity without flaws,
You'll freeze to death in flawlessness.

Flaws are our greatest source of forte,
Flawlessness facilitates blandness.
Correct where flaws cause blindness,
Embrace the flaws where they add sweetness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Right or Human: 300 Limericks of Inclusion

“Findings revealed Type As focus on how proud they are and [how] impressed others are, but are only moderately to weakly involved in actively seeing positive memories for later recall, or in reminiscing about prior positive events.”
― Julia Baird, Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder and Things That Sustain You When the World Goes Dark

“Music isn’t about perfection.”
― H.C. Roberts, Harp and the Lyre: Extraction

“I hadn't noticed when that last tie had been cut. Is that how nostalgia is made: A yearning for somewhere you no longer want to be, but which seems, in an instant, perfect? Or perhaps perfectible is a better word, a place that you could restore to the glories you still see in it, if only it would let you.”
― Katherine May, Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age

“Perfection can be styled, but rarely sustained.”
― Francine Jay, Lightly: How to Live a Simple, Serene, and Stress-free Life

“Perfectionism seemed to be the price of admission to do well. How many times had I heard from eager candidates in job interviews their biggest flaw was being a perfectionist? It was drilled into us that providing this response would turn a negative (your biggest flaw) into a positive (perfectionism).”
― Suzanne Roske, I'm Supposed to Be Doing This: An Adult Gap Year

“We each need the dignity and freedom to be able to test new ideas and finetune them to see how they might best work for us.”
― Laurie E. Smith, Leap With Me: A Creative Path to Finding and Following Your True Voice

“If you set out to create something perfect, you will be stressed, you may not be able to create anything good, so set out to create something good, relax, as you walk, perfection will come out of the fog and come to you!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

“Dare to fail and you will never fail to dare!”
― Selma Benkiran, Inventor Adventure

“Don’t ever strive to be perfect! Live. Love. And let go!”
― Henry Johnson Jr

“In the pursuit of greatness, remember that perfection is an illusion. Embrace your flaws and let them fuel your journey.”
― Henry Johnson Jr

“Perfectionism is the ultimate thief of time.”
― Mitta Xinindlu

“If your goal is perfection, a state that is inherently unattainable, you’ve set yourself on a path where you will always fall short. Let this sink in. You will always fall short.”
― Ronald Duren Jr, The Art of Forging Mettle: A Blueprint for the Evolution of Mental Toughness and Leadership for a Shifting World

“Having perfected machinery, we are doing our best to make ourselves into machines.”
― Lewis Foreman Day, Alphabets Old and New

“Rigid perfectionism is the antithesis to creativity and often results in creative blocks.”
― Jenny Hahn, Creative Flow: Tap and Express Your Juicy Essence