I was listening to Adrian Bejan\u2019s book, The Physics of Life, and was struck by his writing on how nature doesn\u2019t seek perfection. \u201cNothing flows ideally,\u201d Bejan says. \u201cEvery flow system is destined to remain imperfect. The struggle of nature is to be the least imperfect it can be.\u201d Consider how a river is continuously being co-created by the water and the bank, and you\u2019ll have the gist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The imperfection creates a sense of friction between what is and what is wanting to be. A creative urge exists at the nexus between the two. It made me wonder what would happen if, as humans, we leaned into and sought to learn from that imperfection in our own lives and in our organizations. Talk about a reframing! Rather than seeking to get everything just right and holding back until it feels \u2018perfect\u2019, we could embrace the imperfection sooner \u2013 experiment with ways of reducing the friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I started thinking about this in relation to my own writing, which has been an ongoing struggle for me. I have so much to say, which I can comfortably share verbally. But when it comes to writing it down, it is a painful process – so painful in fact that I usually don\u2019t write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why? Because I am trying to get it perfect, and I allow my fear of imperfection, of criticism \u2013 or worse, indifference \u2013 to hold me hostage. Even now I can feel it. What is the purpose of my writing? Is it to show my expertise, my brilliance? That would make sense if<\/span> I believed that I am the only one with these ideas or insights, and, as such, can\u2019t risk imperfection with the way I communicate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I\u2019m not the only one with these ideas and insights. As a living system that is part of numerous living systems all comprising a whole, I am merely one of many who are channeling the wisdom of the whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n