There's no shortage of quotes about the virtues of making mistakes. Our social media feeds are piled high with them. Look no further than Einstein and Edison. There's no shortage of people believing this to be true, in principle. What about in practice, though?
Big shortage.
It's understandable. If you're anything like me, your earliest gold stars came from perfect scores. That kind of hard-wiring is present and persistent for many of us. I truly believe the desire to "nail it" makes it harder for us to do our best work.
I see it in the data-heavy content of the important presentation that's light on the speaker's firm beliefs.
I see it in the unnatural "A-Game" delivery we default into when the presentation stakes are high.
I hear it in the contained vocal expression of the speaker who is then perceived as lacking conviction.
What if we went for imperfection instead?
Like, as a rule?
Like, as in what the hell? I believe in this and I'm going to give it my best shot.
Like Ella so brilliantly did many years ago in Berlin-town.
For her irresistibly imperfect "Mack the Knife", Ella won the Best Female Vocal Performance (Single) and the Best Vocal Performance, Female (Album) at the 3rd Annual Grammy Awards. YES!
To remind myself as I rewire, I listen to her achievement every morning over coffee.