Weekly Roundup 49: Quality Control

I've just returned from a 4-day weekend in Los Angeles, a city I'd not visited before. We did some touristy things, but one of the main reasons we went was to help decorate a float for the Tournament of Roses (aka Rose Bowl) Parade. It's something my husband has always wanted to do, and it sounded quirky and fun, so I was in.

The parade isn't until January 1st, so mid-December is too early for fresh flowers. Our volunteer gig was one of the dry decorating tasks, specifically gluing crushed walnut shells to the float exterior. Kind of like paint by numbers, but way messier. (The medium brown are the walnut shells.)

At one point, our volunteer coordinator noticed that some of the work done by a previous shift was not up to her standards. It didn't look wonderful, but neither did it look awful. I thought that by the time all the flowers and water features and people were added, no one would even see it, let alone notice.

But she couldn't let it go and asked a volunteer to try scrape it off. The glue had already dried, so it was impossible to do without damaging the float. I'm not sure how it ended up, but I hope she made her peace with it.

It all got me thinking, at what point does quality control (usually helpful) become perfectionism (often unhelpful)? Is it when it slows down the creative process? Is it when good enough is never good enough? Is it when we lose sight of the big picture? All of those, and more?

I ask because I get caught in the trap of perfectionism more often than I'd like to admit, and it can be paralyzing. I tend to be pretty critical of myself in writing and in life. But the truth is that few things--maybe no things--in this world are perfect. Maybe, if we're lucky, we have moments where we come close.

As seasonal side-note, Christmas is a great time for this reminder. There is no perfect gift, perfect meal, perfect photo, despite what social media implies. Cut yourself some slack, and I'll try do the same.

See you next week!