Have you heard of the saying, “If anything is worth doing, it is worth doing well”? The proverb is an advice to strive towards perfection in whichever job one undertakes. It could be a small task like folding up your clothes, or a major one like organizing a business meeting in your later life.
Perfection is nothing but attention to minute details. If it is your job to dust the furniture at home, dust it so that not a single speck of dirt shows from any angle. If your chore is to make the beds, make them so that not a single crease shows on the bed-covers. When you fold clothes, fold them neatly end to end and put them right where they belong.
There are only two ways to do a job: either sloppily, or well. If you choose the latter path, you need to realize that any job that qualifies as ‘your’ work, deserves nothing less than your best. Perfection is an attitude that can be cultivated with just a little effort. It is a habit that stands one in good stead in later life. Let us illustrate with an example: you may be asked to turn in an essay on,say, wildlife, for a school project. Instead of scribbling a few facts that you already know, you could make the project more effective by looking up reference books, encyclopedias or websites for additional information. You could then go over the finished essay for accidental slips and errors, and provide illustrations where necessary. If you make it a habit to put in extra effort in your school assignments, will it not help you to handle more difficult projects at the college or university level?
As Michelangelo, the famous 16th century sculptor and painter once put it,
Trifles go to make perfection,
And perfection is no trifle.