Really?
Well, yes.
I once heard someone say “If you aim for perfection, you have no standards.”
Hmmm, what?
It’s because perfection doesn’t exist. Usually people who aim for perfection are never satisfied with the outcome. It’s just not good enough.
Have a look at this website. Is it perfect? NO
Is it how I really want it? NO
I had to start somewhere. If I kept waiting to get that header changed and all my VIP videos created before I started posting, well it would be Christmas! (not really, I will have some videos done by next week)
Aim for excellence. Aim to do your best work. But do not wait until everything is perfect before you start. Just start.
This applies to your life and also your veterinary career. What have you been avoiding doing because you didn’t think you could do it perfectly?
Do not wait until you watch another surgery to give it a go if you already have the skills. Do not take 6 radiographs to get that ‘perfect’ shot. Do not redo that suture line that has a microscopic bulge. In veterinary practice, we are under constant time constraints and we don’t have the luxury of taking our time to be ‘perfect’.
Do you know how many times I write, read, write, tidy up, read these blog posts before I hit publish. Then I read them and think argh! But I have to let go of the need to have them perfect. They are good enough.
You learn more by giving it a go and just doing it!
Recognise where you could have done better, what you could have done differently and apply that learning for next time. Every time you will get more experience, more confidence & more efficient.
If you want it to be perfect as you are afraid of making a mistake, you need to let go & move past that fear.
We all make mistakes.
Making a mistake DOES NOT equal failure!!
It’s just a mistake. It’s what you tell yourself when it happens that turns it from a learning experience into a harrowing experience. That negative self talk (I made a mistake. I stuffed up. Can’t I do anything right? I’m hopeless. Why do I bother? I’ll never be good at this, etc, etc, etc).
Sound familiar? I used to do that train of thought quite well…
What if I told you there is no such thing as failure, only feedback?
How would that change your perception?
A few weeks ago, I made a few mistakes. I was obviously on a roll 🙂 I was a bit frustrated afterwards that I let those mistakes happen.
But the difference was my perception of why I made those mistakes. I didn’t beat myself up about them. I sat and thought what caused me to make the mistakes. One was because I was too busy chatting to the client (me? never :)) and not paying close enough attention. I rang the client, apologised, admitted my error & offered to visit the client after work to rectify the mistake.
So I knew I did the right thing by the client, by the practice and by me (it would’ve bugged me if I just left it) and I know I won’t make that same error again.
I found at times I have learned more from my mistakes. They can be painful, cringe worth and very memorable!
The most important thing to do. Uncover why the mistake occurred. Was it a communication error, lack of knowledge, skill deficit or lack of confidence to name a few? Then work towards rectifying it.
So remember, aim to do your best to the highest standards possible and realise we all have ‘those’ days when we make mistakes. You are just human. Take the learning from it so it won’t happen again.
Be kind to your colleagues who make mistakes. It can happen at any time, to anyone and to the best. Treat people the way you want to be treated if it was you.
I would love to read your thoughts and comments below and on the Facebook fan page.
I want to show people the power of social media so please ‘share’ this with your vet colleagues as I have so much more fantastic content.
