Inspiring Words of the Week: Voltaire on the Notion of Perfect
Each Monday, I share words that I find to be inspiring on my What's New page.
This week's words come from Voltaire, a quote of his that I saw referred to in Brené Brown's book, Daring Greatly.
In French, Voltaire's words are “Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien."
Translated into English, they read as "The perfect is the enemy of the good.”
I loved his sentiment so much because striving for perfection is something that's been a monkey on my back for much of my life. I know that I'm not alone in having that monkey as a sometimes constant companion.
His words resonated so deeply and have given me a great go-to mantra for times when I need a reminder that not only is there no such thing as perfect but the chase for this illusionary precept stifles creativity, exasperates compassion, can strangle a sense of vitality, and can shrink our ability to connect to love.