We should aim for perfection -- and stop fearing failure | Jon Bowers

[@Bromeostasis]

The anxiety of being concerned about perfection will cause more damage then not being perfect we should seek to always be improving.

[@Sengence]

Chris Pregot you are absolutely correct. I developed a tremendous amount of anxiety in college from shooting for perfection in every subject. It literally made patches of my hair fall out. SMH

[@SemperFiRod]

that anxiety its called not growing up and being childish. A FULLY GROWN ADULT SHOULD BE ABLE TO MANGE FAILURE TO THE POINT OF NOT HAVING ANXIETY FROM IT. The problem here is All of the people that criticise this FAILED AT GROWING UP and now are whining because they know natural selection will erase you and you are crying for people to take care of you in the form of the good enough rule

[@kamalghimire4148]

i am always growing. feeling sorry for those grown ups. what now folks?

[@SemperFiRod]

whats your point? do you get anxiety if you seek perfection?

[@kamalghimire4148]

i don't know the meaning of perfection. who defines the limit? you , me or science ( which itself isn't perfect). so i am basically implying that when we define perfection and reach there, we stop evolving.

[@YTsuuuucks]

My number one job duty is literally to keep airplanes from crashing. My job demands perfection far beyond any scope he is portraying... yet, this is my least favorite ted talk, period. He is missing the point. Perfection and progression are not synonymous.

[@debb3739]

Thank you!

[@rea8585]

Brilliant speech and idea behind it. The thing is that trying to be perfect is often walking hand in hand with comparing ourselves to others (because in certain cases that is the only way to measure perfection). And once we start doing that, we are no longer trying to be perfect and the best self, we are trying to be better than people around us, which is giving us a feeling of accomplishment (if we reach it) or failure (if we don't).

[@alanc6752]

Its great to aim for perfection but can a employer expect perfection on minimum wages. Big business want perfection but don't want to pay a living wage. They want perfection but don't want to pay tax, Apple, Google, Amazon, Starbucks, Facebook etc. This guy wants perfection from his drivers but does he pay "perfection" wages or as little as he can get away with?

[@superman011295]

He pays the highest in the industry

[@andrewhelmke9055]

These people make waaay more then minimum wage. Minimum effort will result in minimum results.

[@kojin5881]

He put good thought into it but he has a very black and white view of the world and dosent realize that seeking a state of almost robotic thought will destroy the spiratic part of ourselves that makes us human, also he needs to watch American Psycho and see how a idea of a perfectionist turns out

[@jeffbingaman2754]

KOJIN If you think that movie shows the reality of striving to be above standard. In which the word standard would be considered perfect for the job or application. Thinking there is a possibility of obtaining perfection. You would have to end up breathing the right air molecules at the right time, proportion and place. Your body would have to confirm to all judgement from others. Even though they fail to keep standards. It's molecular to the point of absurdity to the point of even existing would be failure. Because "nothing" is perfect. Thus become nothing which is unachievable from having existed, even as a spectre of a thought.

[@PaperRaines]

"Gray Area" is the place expectations go to die. Just how people like it.

[@whaleshark4261]

Just listening to this guy makes me frustrated...

[@jeffbingaman2754]

Bird Shark Are you trying to perfect frustration?

[@whaleshark4261]

Jeff Bingaman Nothing I ever do is perfect, nor can it ever be. Even my own frustration will be eternally imperfect. I think trying to reach perfection will give you diminishing returns, there's a point where you just need to stop trying to get better because there's so little to get out of it.

[@Sengence]

Boooooo. Booooooo. He says no one shoots for perfection any more. He has perfection confused with control by the sound of his talk.

[@oneofthetrasians]

Markiss Johnson I disagree. When being a "perfectionist" is actually deemed a bad thing we are definitely living in a society that discourages people from striving for perfection

[@dothedeed]

I don't doubt Mr Bowers' intentions, but his correlations are spurious and he seems to be inserting his personal biases into the workplace without any proof of beneficial outcomes. Most accidents involving transport trucks are not the fault of the truck driver but of smaller passenger vehicles. Where the truck is at fault, the cause is usually due to driver fatigue/ poorly secured loads or poorly maintained vehicles. So, being a jerk and micromanaging the drivers' attire is not saving any lives. Paying drivers more per mile to allow them time to sleep, road design improvements (including rumble strips, wider intersections and increased turn radii) and proper maintenance - that saves lives. Shiny shoes or nice starched uniforms don't stop blow out or jack knifing.

[@SemperFiRod]

Of course, it saves lives, where is your common sense?

[@zetaforever4953]

Not really. Different people are perfect at different things. You seek perfection in things you care deeply about and ignore the rest. I am a writer. I like writing and have a job where writing forms the majority of my duties. Now, when I am writing, I try my best to make my writing perfect, because that is a priority for me. On the other hand, I don't give a damn how I'm dressed or how my hair is combed most of the time. I'm imperfect while cooking, the maintenance of my computer and phone leaves a lot to be desired, as I am not tech savvy and can't be bothered to invest the time and energy to become so as long as my gadgets function relatively well. Trying to achieve perfection in all of those things will not only waste precious time, it will give me a nervous breakdown. This guy has OCD. Teaching drivers how to iron their undershirts and shine their shoes, especially by force or pressure, is a waste of everyone's time and energy. Few people can be perfect at one thing. There is no person on earth who can be perfect at everything. And for most people, trying would just lead to a quick loss of sanity.

[@bbbbrrrzzt5166]

So you're saying that if every driver, not just the ones he trains, would strive for perfection, we would have fewer road deaths? Sounds you like you two agree.

[@zetaforever4953]

I agree that drivers should be trained to drive well. Perfection is not just unattainable, it is subjective. A driver who takes a wrong turn but causes no accidents is not a perfect driver, but he's a good enough driver to be allowed to drive. What i do disagree with is this guy's method of training people...and the kind of expectations he holds. It's not just unnecessarily stressful and stupid, it's unproductive

[@bbbbrrrzzt5166]

Striving to be better is a part of life. Perfection is not a goal, but a road you walk. When you constantly reexamine yourself, your convictions, your goals, your expectations, you are living the life you should live. Nietzsche said this (sort of, he's a complex writer) and I think that it's the best guiding principle you can take in life. Think of a runner who's running the 100m sprint. He knows he's the best of the group and could win the race even if he gives only 99%. But he should not take comfort in "good enough" to win the race, but strive for running perfection. And the next time he runs, he should aim to break his previous record. Like the video says, this is stressful. But that, too, is part of life. If you did not have to work, your books wrote themselves and people lavished you with awards you did not earn, would you be happy? There is suffering in striving for perfection, but like the analogy of exercise shows, not all suffering is 'bad'. Suffering that leads to improvement is 'good', and perfection is 'best'.

[@AlexFuniciello]

I like how his shirt is wrinkled...

[@jeffbingaman2754]

Alex Funiciello Perfectly wrinkled?

[@TestMeatDollSteak]

Seems like "perfection" was the wrong word for what he was really trying to get across. I think that there would be fewer objections if he had simply said "improvement", rather than "perfection". I think that most of us can agree that our fallible, human nature will always leave us room to improve and correct mistakes.

[@PaperRaines]

TestMeatDollSteak I see what you're saying, but I think he meant perfection. Improvement doesn't have a defined end point or goal, you can always improve incrementally. He's saying perfectionism is the goal, never fail at something. If you want to reach a mountaintop shoot for the moon, then you'll hit the top of the mountain. If you aim for the mountaintop you'll probably come up short, or it will take too long to get there. Subtle difference between concentrating on improvement rather than perfection

[@MelanieAnneAhern]

Humans are intrusively imperfect. We live in an inherently imperfect world. I can empathize with the point he’s trying to get across. I certainly think we should all strive for the best in our work, in our relationships, but constantly chasing “perfection” will just make us weary and anxious. I feel like this man doesn’t understand human nature lol

[@Quebonitoeslobonito123]

Melanie Anne Ahern What this TED talk fails to clarify, in my opinion, is that I️ don’t think he’s trying to tell us to strive for perfection on everything. That would drive anyone insane; but to strive for perfection on those things that matter. On the job that you’re doing, on the project you’re working on. On that essay or math test, and I️ agree with him because it’s exactly how babies and young kids are able to soak up things like a sponge. For my first essay in college, I️ didn’t know where the expectations laid. I️ was nervous and thought I’d get an okay grade, so I️ tried so hard, put my all in I️t and was the only one in the class to get an A. I️ attribute that to not setting a lower bar for myself, to not knowing where the line was. I️ think that’s the point he’s trying to get across- perfection is so far most of the time, that we give 110% to something, to really create something great.

[@Quebonitoeslobonito123]

Have no idea if I️ made sense or not, I️’m in a bit of a hurry now lol

[@BrothamanASMR]

He understands human nature. He just doesn't accept it. I agree with his point 100%

[@CNY_AP]

MANY people don't even try/care to do things 100% correctly. It's even crept into engineering - want someone to build a bridge who isn't 100% careful? People buy Toyota cars because if nothing else, Toyotas are high quality. do you think that's by accident? Nobody at Toyota is sweating the details? We look up to Toyota, but look down upon people who have the same perfectionist attitude here (USA).

[@StarvEgoFeedSoul]

U JUST TRYING TO JUSTIFY UR LAZINESS XD

[@oniricPrj]

you were 99% successful in your exposition of ideas in that you failed to pronounce correcly a couple of words and had to correct yourself. Your TED talk was a failure but don't worry: now you can strife for perfection on your next TED talk.

[@two-face1041]

Oniric lol this is great

[@SemperFiRod]

Actually no, You cant differ success from failure, its okay for you. let me explain you "success" and "failure" in this context; success here is delivering the message, with all the details he wants to include. failing is the opposite. efficiency is delivering the message in the least amount of words and/or time. hope you understand this, but I expect you fail again at understanding what success and failure mean.

[@SemperFiRod]

TL DR Perfection has to be about functionality to be somehow measured. did this video delivered all what Jon wanted to say?. (it's up to him but) Yes. Period. Does the message change if I say 1m or one meter or one thousand millimeters? no, it doesn't. the functionality of a message its not measured in number of words or time or corrected errors

[@NothingToNipahAb0ut]

Semper Fi R What you're talking about is exactly the definition of "good enough", which is the attitude he criticizes in the video. In this case, he did good enough relaying his message, but fixing his pronunciation would make the talk even better. Therefore he failed, but he can strive for perfection next time knowing his previous shortcomings. Remember, failure is part of seeking perfection.

[@SemperFiRod]

Are you stupid? Fixing the pronunciation to the correct form does not affect the message. it's not about the effort, it's about the result, does the message change if i say "1 metter, correction 1 meter" No, period.

[@Sabarok]

I find it funny how he complains about the acceptance of "99%" as not being good enough, while praising someone who succeeded 77 times in a row as perfection to aspire to. 77 in a row is 98.7%. And getting a jump shot right is only a single task that lasts a second. A doctor performing a difficult surgery might be called upon to perform over a hundred tasks in a row, all correct to perfection over a period of hours in order to get a successful end result and we, as a society, only judge that doctor on the end result, not on all the steps performed to get it. So that 99% success rate in surgery might be the result of 10,000 successful tasks in a row. Perfection can be exhausting, and there is practice required, but it's important that people have the mental energy in order to be able to spend it on what matters. We wouldn't want doctors to spend an hour before surgery making sure their gowns are well pressed, that all their clothing is immaculate. Those are things that don't matter, and if they exhaust themselves focusing on the irrelevant, they'll tire out before surgery finishes. Instead, they spend a minute or two before surgery focused on things that do matter, like washed hands, fresh surgery gloves, a well positioned mask. When it comes to training for perfection, it is important to focus on practicing what's important and relevant. That basketball player didn't get 77 shots in a row because he practiced getting his uniform perfect and focused on achieving perfection. He attained it because he practiced making shots until it was an automatic reflex. You don't attain perfection by practicing the effort to be perfect, you attain perfection by practicing the skills you want to perfect. Want drivers to cross intersections perfectly? Practice. Want to change lanes perfectly? Practice. Practice until every desired step is an automatic reflex. Because when you have it practiced, it becomes effortless. But here's a question for those drivers: When you have them trained for being "on time" as high importance, when they are facing bad weather, will they choose to drive safely and be late, or take risks in order to be on time? Are you making the roads more dangerous in the pursuit of time perfection?

[@mohitkhatri7061]

How much time you've wasted bro!!!in writing all this😂

[@nickjoeb]

Even when people strive for perfection there will be a margin of error. Saying others aren't striving for perfection because there is a higher failure rate somewhere doesn't mean those industries aren't striving. Now if the rate is unacceptable then yes there should be a change as he states and I do agree with. Also associating all successes with your ideal without anything backing it up is a little bs also. There are systems that need to be bettered but to say there is no effort is a little absurd. I'd say reacting to failure with change in more the focus here.

[@sourcedrop7624]

I would never work for a guy like this. He has no idea how human beings operate. Wrinkled clothes = failure? Wow. People like this guy don't realize how destructive they are. They make just as many mistakes as everyone around them but are too busy judging everyone to notice. My guess is he's a fundamental Christian. Only they are so hypocritical to say they love everyone while judging them.

[@ProfessorSyndicateFranklai]

The Irony in your statement is noticeable, but I do agree with your statement a bit. Perhaps what we judge others on is that of which part of ourselves we ourselves are afraid and detest of.

[@Jaxuhe]

This is a loaded topic for me, as someone who suffers from anxiety, with one of the causes being perfectionism, which was instilled with sayings like "do it right or get out". Just by using the word while claiming to have changed the definition, you're already giving excuses to repeat that. The most important thing I agree with: yes, the striving, improving, accepting failure as part of learning, focus - those are positive, necessary for a healthy person. But putting so much attention to things like perfect dress code, flawless attention at all times, just to drive the point home seems damaging - considering we're, you know, human beings, with limited attention, energy and brains, and putting too much strain on any of it in the wrong way leads to stress, to bad health, and to generally lowered points of "best effort" anyway. So, how about instead of trying to force a mentality of flawless, mechanical precision - especially in a context of self-driving cars doing just that in your profession, but better - you could try to work on changing opinions on failure versus success, or figure out "healthy perfectionism"? Because your lecturing can result in people deciding, for example, that they'll never be good enough doctors - while with how overworked every one I know is they need all the help they can get. I wonder which is worse: seeing a "good enough" doctor who cares and tries, a "perfect" doctor who's too tired to even read your name, or not seeing any doctor at all?

[@LeonidasGGG]

Perfection is an immutable system. You need that 1% to learn something new... And grow.

[@ashleydeocampo582]

everyone here cussing about perfection's disadvantage and got their ego hurting but dont care about the 11 babies put in wrong parents each day now i know u telling me, theres no good evidence about this but what if, like what if. what if after 10 years you found out that ur baby isnt yours because some ego stroked man did his job wrong? now what? what if ur parents died in a car crash because somebody forget to check some tires? u still gotta care about your self esteem? perfection is getting things right to lessen conflict to lessen deaths because its not about quantity, its about quality. and if ur about to hire somebody, you wont accept a good enough work, cause u know thats worth a lot of dollars. cause u know its u that has the liability so shut up is it really bad to understand?

[@Budyash]

The only issue here is how to measure perfection. It is impossible to count in percentages some things in life. Each person has his own standard for work, family, friends. Seeking perfection is ok, but how to stop doing one thing and switch to another if it’s not perfect. Your shirt in the morning is never perfect, you iron it but you get wrinkles in one place when you try to get rid of them in the other. Usually you’d say:”I did my best”, but now you can not even go to work, because you’re a perfectionist. Who is the judge of perfection? People can never adequately judge themselves. We are always better or worse than somebody else. We never know what’s perfect.

[@mscatzord]

I can understand this talk when the word ‘perfection’ is subbed by ‘excellence’. We should always strive for excellence, but not perfection, cause only the latter is impossible. Adam Grant speaks on this

[@inadaze8994]

Exactly! I hate it when anyone tells me “you did better than me at least” or “it’s okay” because it’s not! Let me stress out! If I never stress I’ll never care if I do or do not improve. Seeking perfection is not wrong and should not be seen as an obnoxious trait because it is a goal that drives me to take concrete steps at an exponential rate than a person who is “okay” with their results. If the world was just okay with everything and stopped seeking perfectionism then nothing will improve because no one will care!

[@luisricardoram]

Even though perfection is something that has to be achievable by every productive process that exist, the way that he presents "his method to achieve it" is something that is tipical of persons that doesn't understand how complex interactions with systems usually work. Complex systems by themselves have flaws (not only drivers, medics or services), and if perfection is something that we should strive for. Understandment of the phenomena is more important than "pointing what is wrong"; because in this talk, i only listen "why should things should be perfect". Instead of "how we can achieve perfection in processes that lead to perfect behavior" then the lack of method only implies a rant about, why things are not perfect and what the cost of those imperfections could be, then we could ask. How we can encourage people to more be concious that their actions impact the whole system?. Anyway he has a lot to learn about his imperfect way to see motivation and continous development. Bottom line, please do not compare things that are "my personal experience"., With proceesses that are really complex and with a lot of people involved in them. Because somehow... all the people involved understand that, failures cost lives and, we are aware of what a "mistake" cost can be.

[@Julioc96]

This reminds me that even a "perfect" program will fail because of radiation from the sun. Thanks for describing what I was thinking while watching this but couldn't explain myself.

[@jigarjani4008]

Interesting that hes really talking about precision and not perfection. Precision and excellence are relative and can be realistically aimed for while not trying be to perfect.

[@holleey]

Can't confirm a couple of things here. 1. In many fields, perfectionism is a bane, as by sticking to it persistently, you would never be able to complete a project. Software engineering being a good example for that - there's ALWAYS something you can improve upon, so you need to be able to tame your perfectionism if you want to get somewhere. Don't mention that you are a "perfectionist" in job interviews within fields like these, as it is in fact an unfavorable trait - for good reasons. Thus, preaching perfectionism like a religion as this guy does is not helpful. 2. Perfection isn't achievable anyways (and not fearing failure doesn't change anything about that). His examples about driving made me chuckle in particular. Humans are bad drivers by nature and no amount of training or attention can change that. When you put mammals inside of huge wheeled boxes of metal and have them roll around at 90 km/h then traffic fatalities are plain simply what you get. It's the natural outcome. For human drivers to seek perfection will not enable them to overcome those limits. 3. "If our doctors were only 99.99% correct, ..." that one's even funnier though. I wonder if they're correct 50% of the time... Prescriptions are based on rough guesses. As doctors are human beings, it's simply not possible for their brains to query millions of links between medicines and symptoms within the couple of minutes they've available for that. Not to mentioned that the "correct" medicine probably doesn't even exist - just like perfection in drug discovery. But what am I saying; the mere notion that doctors exists primarily to prescribe drugs is already completely denying any aim for perfection. But in the end, it's probably down to our imperfect symbol language. A mismatch of definitions. What he means by "striving for perfection" is probably more like "striving for improvement". Though I would argue that even that wouldn't be helpful 100% of the time. Things just aren't as black and white as that. Both "improvement" and "perfection" are linear concepts, but reality is not linear. Maybe you are improving something, but it turns out that this something isn't desirable to someone else or to yourself in the future. ;) Rather than to ask "what can I do to improve this and that", I suggest to ask "what is important - how should I set my priorities". What exactly is it that you are perfecting when aiming for it blindly?

[@mcpraveen]

seeking perfection is an imperfection..

[@australianlink]

Tell this Gentleman to visit Thailand, or India or Mexico.....lol

[@dakshparmar4038]

excuse me ?

[@australianlink]

Daksh, cos these countries are nothing but shortcuts, have you seen someone driving in India lol

[@wisconsin_realtor]

you mean the reported death rate is less lol

[@Puppapo]

is that too hard to not to refer to the others?

[@silentr9868]

This is an interesting take on perfection. I know I'm not alone when I say perfection has caused a great deal of stress in my life. But he makes some fair points, where imperfection has directly led to catastrophe including death. I think the issue with this talk is the way in which the term "good enough" was used. Perfection as a whole is certainly unattainable, but perfection in some instances can be possible. Writing code for instance, or making sure every sensor has been checked properly. These are things that CAN be done perfectly. But "good enough" is not as low of a standard as he makes it out to be. The definition of "good enough" changes depending on the context. Good enough is just a term used for the acceptable amount of imperfection in a given situation, which at times may not be any. When many lives are at stake, perfection and good enough can often be synonymous. But when it comes to adding the perfect amount of salt to your next meal, the divide between perfection and good enough is considerably larger. Perfection, in most cases, whether possible or not, is impractical and imposes unnecessary stress. There is nothing wrong with "good enough". We just need to understand what that means in different situations.

[@KyleHuang]

Understand where he's coming from, and all the examples support it. but reaching for perfection like that just CAUSES the illness.

[@vinescarlan]

That's what he is saying. People should always reach for Perfection and Impossible. And we should not be afraid of failure or that "illness" you're saying. But instead learn from it, and don't take it as some excuse to not reach for Perfection.

[@princealmighty5391]

@@vinescarlan he is wrong dude

[@princealmighty5391]

@@vinescarlan he doesnt understand it

[@ShoTime017]

... you must work for UPS as well...

[@cwl82108]

Too harsh, when u asking other people to do things perfectly, at the same time do u really do all your things perfect?push yourself too hard will drive people crazy and easier to get older too

[@pradeepkumar-yr8io]

i do not think that anyone can be perfect.

[@yosiefo5626]

No but we can still strive for it ;)

[@eyeleyejah]

He doesn't mean à perfect person. He means perfect skills, and also to strive towards perfection

[@pradeepkumar-yr8io]

we can strive towards perfection but we can not be perfect. More you are getting perfection more energy and time your are wasting.

[@SemperFiRod]

mm, jon also said nobody is perfect.... that was not the point of the talk

[@TheXuism]

no good topic . it is buzz words. perfection is unattainable . We keep improving our working quality but will never achieve and perfection is end of universe . it causes depression and anxiety.

[@chucktuck93]

This guy is extra af

[@tontymarshall458]

Thank you so much for this talk. I am currently working tward a new career that requires perfection, taxes. I appreciate your view on failure and learning from them. Thank you.

[@PaperRaines]

I've been saying this same thing to anyone who would listen my entire life. That guy had the balls to give a speech on it, I give him all the credit in the world. Perfection is not a popular topic in general society.

[@nmarcel]

This guy should learn from the new computing way of thinking: Instead of trying to make "perfect" systems (which are impossible, due to the physical nature of machines and human errors), the new way is trying to make systems resilient (recoverable) from failures, based on redundancy (multiplicity of processors, storage locations, networks), retries and compensations. In other words, never depend in single entities (machine or human) to do something, make validations between participants, detect failures early, warn and take action at least to reach a stable state.

[@christhecurler]

This speaker contradicts himself many times and makes many assumptions to justify his hypothesis. For example, he states that we have recently stopped striving for perfection and started accepting failure. Then he goes on to cite our "dangerous roads" as a reason we need to get back into the mindset of seeking perfection, yet our roads have never been safer. Every decade on our highways is safer per capita than the previous decade. If what he says is true, then our roads should be more dangerous than ever. In fact, almost everything in getting better in life. Look at how technology is advancing, cars are becoming more fuel efficient, or how manufacturing and distribution is far more efficient than it was 50 or 100 years ago.

[@nisnber5760]

cdc25 Did you really expected his logic to be perfect?

[@christhecurler]

lol. Just holding him to the standards he sets for the rest of us.

[@polychats5990]

Even if it's getting better, that doesn't change the fact that in the US there are still an average of 102 people dying each day due to vehicle crashes. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year

[@christhecurler]

You completely missed the point of my comment. He is making the case that accepting failure is making things worse, yet the example of road safety he gives to prove his point does the exact opposite. I'm in no way arguing that more shouldn't be done to make roads safer.

[@jeffbingaman2754]

cdc25 They predicted through studies a few years ago that drivers will be more apt to cause accidents. They said it will be a noticable escalation. I base it due to lack of knowledge, inattention due to distractions from electronics, billboards, lack of addresses/poor signage visible to drivers, more vehicles on the road, situational awareness and the ability to correct mistakes. People are also taught how to shortcut by peers or parents in different scenarios such as not allowing merges, keeping a safe distance, continuing in a merge lane instead of merging. The biggest factor in traffic jams is following distance. Which disallows people to, although they should predict their lane to be in doesn't always happen. And have to slow everyone down to move three lanes or even one lane to exit. "If" everyone kept a proper distances and stayed right except to pass. Traffic flow would increase at a surprising rate. As would accidents reduce. And there are those insurance frauds who try and succeed in causing accidents to profit from them. I would say that every vehicle should be on tracks from home to everywhere. but😐

[@maxischmidt1299]

I totally disagree with him. Seeking perfection is making people ill. There is nothing more human than making mistakes and learning from it. Mistakes and errors are totally ok. Do not be perfect

[@CrossingWolfi]

Did you watch the video?

[@jeffliu2867]

Maxi Schmidt I don't think you even watched the video.

[@DrawingwithNoel]

Hey, I'm an Artist who has unique drawing talent......'''''',,,,,''''''..... Bet you that I live up to my word. (uploaded a new Art)

[@valon932]

watch the video dude

[@BoykoDev]

The only human thing about mistakes is that "mistake" is a concept created by humanity to define a situation when result is different from expectations. Change your view on result or modify expectations and "mistakes" become a complete opposite. (what is opposite of mistakes anyway?)))

[@itsmeganmoore]

I feel like the people who do not like this video are just okay with being mediocre and they're feelings are hurt that someone is calling them out.

[@lukecoonrod]

Bros literally wearing a wrinkled shirt

[@effortaward]

Good talk. “Why don’t we try defining perfectionism as a willingness to do what is difficult, to achieve what is right” Definition of a “Professional”.

[@unframedminds8204]

You can be a darn near perfect driver even if you wear wrinkled clothes ... or hardly any clothes at all :-) Perfectionism is the goal but it shouldn't be pursued in a stressful, anxious way. If you're passionate about something, seeking perfection will come natural. I think the moral of this TED Talk is that we should aim high. The 30% valedictorian class, is an example of bright people who settled for less. Part of the reason is that nobody encouraged them to try harder. The other reason (more important, I think) is that schools don't reward the pursuit of passion. We reward getting highest grades across all disciplines, but very few of us are passionate about all disciplines. It's good to study all disciplines. That's the mark of a truly educated person. But we usually get passionate only about a few ideas. That's where we should aim high and not see failure as a disaster, but as a stepping stone towards "greatest ever" ... or something like that. :-)

[@angelguidesabbath]

You can tell he has had a traumatic experience that has hurt his heart , to bring him to this way of thinking. But what makes protection possible , man or Father God? God bless you all

[@macadamia668]

I agree that we shouldn't down grade out standards to lazy levels. However, I stopped listening and laughed for one or two reasons. One, he argues that we shouldn't fear about our failures, yet it's dangerous to make a small error that could cost 76 lives as he said. Two, he argues that we should put 100% of effort into our lives, even though it causes stress: That's asking everyone to sacrifice and suffer just to achieve 100% in effort on something, depending on the situation. Plus, stress is known to cause unhealthy affects in the body so again, I laughed and stopped listening. If we are able to strive perfection, we would of cured cancer, lived in Mars, and have an outstanding economy already. What he's asking is unfortuneately "impossible".

[@fikujez]

His posture really isn't perfect...

[@ItinerantIntrovert]

Perfection is impossible

[@mushyomens6885]

Kyle Wit Read the title again... Seeking Perfection is not Impossible...

[@ItinerantIntrovert]

Mujtaba Omar Sure, I mean that that is seeking an impossible end. But read the first sentence of the description--the video is demanding perfection in certain situations.

[@mushyomens6885]

Kyle Wit ... Cuz it's written by another 'imperfect' human being... You just need to understand the concept here and try to apply it in your life and learn from it, every sentence spoken by the guy or written in the description is not the Word of God, so some of it can be false, but as long as it is understood, it is such an amazing idea that it can completely change our way of thinking... Peace

[@ItinerantIntrovert]

Mujtaba Omar You pointed to the title I pointed to the description lol And its not every little word its the theme of the talk

[@vinescarlan]

Everything is possible, until you give up.

[@wyattelam4151]

I like how the dude is blaming the US government for crashing a plane and blaming them for "only doing 99 percent of their job" while he works at ups

[@thomaslara54]

I wonder what Brene Brown thinks about this

[@debb3739]

My guess is she’d call BS & she’d think it was rather toxic on many levels.

[@nicoleronwet7889]

I love this talk thank you! Literally it's so funny how emotional people are getting in the comments by someone speaking of "perfection". I had no idea there was this much hate against the idea of perfection in our society. They really have no argument.

[@davidracek3051]

if everything was perfect there would be 0 room for improvement and innovation.

[@JohnnyB719]

Anyone named John Bowers is already perfect, lol

[@vinodkumaraug]

Lol!

[@t_melloon1902]

How did he get a ted talk?

[@jamielogue79]

This is nonsense.

[@DanielO-100]

This guy makes so much sense. I don't know why some people are hating in the comments probably because they can't aspire for perfection. I totally believe in perfectionism.

[@moonmile]

I've been fighting my perfectionism for many years. It burns me out and slows down. So, I allow myself to reach at least 90% of what I feel I can, and then move on to the next piece of work (video editing, recording, design). Consider your field and find the balance in it. I mean, video editing is not driving at 55 miles/h. He's a good point, but only for the fields where 99,999999% is vital.

[@gabrielladean2617]

I agree. Progress is always the best. This is why we always make multiple drafts when writing a paper.

[@tigerrunner12]

“Healthy striving is about striving for internal goals, and wanting to be our best selves. Perfectionism is not motivated internally. Perfectionism is about what people will think.” - Brené Brown

[@debb3739]

Brene for the win

[@swstorm1342]

Perfection you say, Well.... I have to tell you the honest truth,as I see it. In this world, nothing perfect exists. It may be a cliche,after all... but it's the way things are. That's precisely why ordinary men persue the concept of perfection,it's infatuation.... But ultimately,I have to ask myself: what is the true meaning of being perfect? And the answer I came up with was: nothing. Not. One. Thing. The truth of the matter is,I despise perfection. If something is truly perfect,that's it. The bottom line becomes. There is no room for imagination. No space for intelligence. Or ability. Or improvement! Do you understand?! To men of science like us,perfection is a dead end,a condition of hopelessness! Always strive to be better than anything that came before you,but not perfect. Scientists agonize over the attempt to achieve perfection! That's the kind of creatures we are. We take joy in trying to exceed our grasp and trying to reach for something that,in the end,we have to admit,may in fact be unreachable! In other words... You may think that we operate on the same level,but you are wrong. The moment you talked about perfection,you embraced an impossible concept and already lost to me.... that is,of course,if you are indeed a scientist,at all...

[@Keithguinn97]

When he says “doctors and therapists are saying so and so” he’s destroying his credibility in his argument. Psychologists/therapists are trained professionals and know what they’re talking about. Don’t assume every therapist says that and that it has the effect you’re saying without research and knowledge.

[@jonmike733]

Being perfect is really inefficient.

[@keyaruga7819]

Jon Mike its just that you are being perfect towards an imperfect goal. Your path is not clearly defined.

[@mushyomens6885]

I don't understand why everyone in the comment section is misunderstanding the video and its title... Who said "Being Perfect" in the first place? Seeking perfection is what we are talking about...

[@SemperFiRod]

that's true. pareto's principle eh?

[@ProfessorSyndicateFranklai]

Being perfect is 100% efficient; that's the actual definition of perfection.

[@SemperFiRod]

That's actually not the definition of perfection, Efficiency is not perfection, surely it can be a key aspect for meeting perfection, but it is not "necessary" always, in some things efficiency on one aspect affects inversely the efficiency of another aspect. thus being impossible to meet 100% efficiency on any scenario. but anyway, what jon mike was referring to when he said that being perfect is inefficient, is that when working on something, after reaching the 80% of the work, working on the rest 20% to complete the task and make it perfect can take even more time than the first 80% so it would reach the peak efficiency at 80% and the lowest efficiency at 100%, and this is usually the case when carrying out a task or some work or whatever

[@ImmortalFantasies]

"Failure" (making mistakes) is a good thing. It helps us learn what to doing and what not to do. Otherwise, if we don't learn from our failures, we will repeatedly make the same errors. "Perfection" is impossible, but we can get close to it.

[@Kori260]

Perfection is not impossible, it just impractical in alot of things. You CAN make me a 100% perfect hamburger at McDonalds or you can give me one at 95% perfect. Maybe the pickles are cut slightly too thick, but at the end of the day I really could not care less. Everybody has 100% of their energy and they only allocate to much of it to a single thing. The guy that has a perfect score on one thing is failure on another and not being a able to accept that a person has weaknesses is very a naive mentality. your greatest strengths of one thing WILL be the source of your greatest weaknesses. That's just how nature works.

[@zeishaanavian8617]

It should probably be made really clear that he's is not talking about body image or much about quality of life, those are more of a different story. Instead he's talking about ambition, goal setting, industry, and business. He also mention "So if you can't get the little things right you're going to fail when it counts, and you're driving it counts." But in situations when it doesn't count like social interactions or social events for example, probably shouldn't need to seek perfection at all times. And I think his idea should really be applied and magnified into areas such as professional driving, medicine, engineering, manufacture, and maintenance which is when it really counts and "perfection" is necessary. It could also be noted that trying our best might be good enough for the small things like elementary school tests but with the big requires more then our best. And his idea of utilizing failure as a motivational force should support this argument well. Also, if this kind perfectionism still causes bad stress, why not try and find ways to remove this bad stress while still making improvements? I kind of don't understand why people say nothing can be flawless no matter what is done. For example, the first time you build a machine it will most likely have flaws. But if you carefully proofread it, try to spot and fix as many flaws as you can, then it will be nearly flawless. In short, a machine can't be flawless from the start but it can be nearly flawless by the end right? He even says we know that imperfection exist all around us so that proves he's still aware of imperfection. The another ironic point could also be that as much as he might care about mental health, he mentions how this kind of atitude is what gives us scary healthcare, which mental healthcare is probably included. I can't really understand why many actvists advocate against this kind of perfectionis and influences messages like to stop following your dreams and accept everything just the way it is no matter how bad it is!

[@Jaybird-145]

I have a LOT to say about this, and maybe at some point I’ll return to this comment to elaborate, but this is one of the most myopic screeds I’ve ever heard spewed. The incredible senses of arrogance and callousness made me viscerally upset, and whatever good points were made became buried by the moronic posturing that surrounded them. Here’s hoping this TED talker, and anybody who has the misfortune of listening to this garbage, can and will move on.

[@ulliamodell5451]

The 'perfect being' you said... well... I have to tell you the honest truth as I see it. In this world nothing perfect exists. It may be a cliché after all, but it's the way things are. That's precisely why ordinary men pursue to concept of perfection, it's infatuation... But ultimately I have to ask myself what is the true meaning of being perfect and the answer I came up with was: nothing. Not one thing. The truth of the matter is I despise perfection. If something is truly perfect, that's it. The bottom line becomes there is no room for imagination, no space for intelligence or ability or improvement. Do you understand to men of science like us perfection is a dead end, a condition of hopelessness. Always strive to be better than anything that came before you, but not perfect. Science has agonized over the attempt to achieve perfection. That's the kind of creatures we are. We take joy in trying to exceed our grasp, in trying to reach for something that in the end we have to admit may in fact be unreachable. In other words, you may think the we operate on the same level, but you're wrong. The moment you started talking about perfection you embraced an impossible concept and you already lost to me. That is of course if you are indeed a scientist at all. - Tite Kubo

[@noizy14]

This whole rant is made possible thanks to abstraction and simplification of complex situations and vague language tailored to sound appealing. Advocating for stringency would have been more honest, but in the end it's just 10 minutes of this gentleman patting himself on the back, disappointingly mediocre for a TED talk.

[@abhijitjacob]

I have better chances of making a packet reach by sending 2 packets by USPS rather than one packet by FedEx and still save money. All problems are not equal. Perfection gives you McDonald too.

[@MiPh3]

There also is the fallacy that "perfection" is a notion that actually exists. Choosing the metric to measure is subjective. Choosing to "perfect" one outcome almost always leads to "imperfection" in other. There is plenty of literature on game theory, "optimal" solutions, tradeoffs and engineering efficiencies addressed elsewhere. There cannot be a "perfect" society. Why must it be that a surgeon is held to the same degree of perfection as that of a window-washer? Both jobs are arguably important. However, one has devastating consequences if not performed to a particular degree of preciseness. This talk adds nothing of interest to the ongoing discussion: the obvious notion that better is better has been established some time ago...

[@hiair]

If you seek to improve it's because you aim to perfection. If you seek it you do achieve better results than by not even trying. Each time you try you improve, you get closer to perfection, not further away. Don't punish yourself for failing, punish yourself for not trying.

[@LiteStyle0o]

Haven't watched this Vid. But if you are a UPSer, log on the the UPSer website & search "what if" &/or "Ted"... Read the comments, there are some eye opening ideas that corporate even took the time to respond to!

[@jancerny8109]

The military puts its people through basic training wherein they get screamed at for wrinkles on their bedsheets--and they still forgot to check the sensor. You can hold everybody on earth to godlike standards, and foulups will still happen. I also notice this guy attempted a public speech and allowed his voice to squeak like an adolescent. Physician, heal thyself.

[@zerogoki40]

This guy's view is delusional. Maybe one day self-driving cars may get 100% perfect, but not human delivery drivers. You shouldn't treat people like machines.

[@cherylcarpenter9515]

I believe he is saying that to strive for perfection is what allows us to improve, and in the end, we achieve more than we first thought possible. Striving for perfection will take humanity farther than ending at "good enough". To put effort into the things, people, and society we care about can be stressful and rewarding at the same time. Not all stress is bad stress.

[@alexrice1580]

I have to disagree with this talk. I hated perfectionism and I can’t with it. I dealt with people who are perfectionist and I actually can’t think around with someone with it. I have mild autism so perfectionism has never been my thing.

[@jamagal22]

I don't see anything close to perfect in what he's doing. This sound like just a bad "motivational" talk designed to fool and exploit employees. Why is it at TED?

[@jeneiliaroberts5329]

As humans though the only person that is perfect is God or whomever your spiritual god is but even though perfection in human is not achievable can you imagine if we all tried to be perfect how high we would excel ? so take his speech and edit it to how it really should be which is TRY to be perfect in all you do.

[@yangwang6818]

Not convinced at all by his examples. Different jobs should have different ideal acceptance levels depend on the goal. Overkilling is also a huge waste.

[@rockshankar]

humans make mistake. that is our nature. that is what make us human. instead of accusing, we need to build everything in a way that there is tolerance. mistake is a very subjective term. i totally disagree with this guy.

[@pranavbolli8298]

Comments are 365. There are 365 days are there in a year.. This is the 366th comment. A year having 366 days is called A Leap Year..

[@faelim]

So if I understand this correctly, we should be failing more so that we can eventually fail less, and somehow that will lead to perfection. K, got it.

[@thegreatlenfer]

hey buddy , go buy a robot and train him to perfection because what you saying right now is not perfection you asking .is a non human

[@swstorm1342]

So I guess the word your searching for is actually improvement

[@teegees]

Dangerous message. I'd put it differently: Strive to be and do your best, and there is no failure. I realize this is a different message, but as someone who has been struggling with a perfectionist mindset for decades, I can tell you that aiming for perfection leads to more harm than good in more ways than one, regardless of if you embrace failure and learn from it or not.

[@blog-zw7jt]

If you are perfect, you are not human anymore. Human is not a robot. Children knows that lol

[@TheHelloWorldz]

Perfection is a waste of time and energy on something you never you'll be able to achieve.

[@islombekabdullaev4692]

Today I was telling about perfection to some people, where I remarked being a perfectionist may cause suffering in life as one sometimes tries to outperform his physical or mental abilities as well as take everything too close too heart being quite sensitive. Though a failure has been mentioned going hand in hand with success, your point is effective and encouraging as the failure is an indispensable part of success in any area of life... Thank you, Jon.

[@Morticia147]

This guy is a maniac, I never, never in my life would want to work for someone like that. We are Human not robots!

[@jeffbingaman2754]

Morticia147 You are a biological robot that is being constantly programmed. Some people choose and decide on proper outcomes through tradition and other means. While others have undisciplined, older biological software that doesn't recognize the new form and thus disagrees as to disallow something new which could be hacked with a virus to destroy them. So they take in less info as a survival mode. Where some newer software biological human robots allow anything and end up confused. Only a properly aligned biological human robot will be able to succeed. Until their alignment disagrees with the input they are surrounded by.

[@alihadimajeed3372]

I just want to say they give the Ted talk podium to everyone nowadays :(

[@blight2638]

People crying saying perfection is gonna ruin our snowflake children

[@nileshbhakre7050]

perfection is word for robot ai..not for human race

[@GloryBlazer]

we have to be the ones that make the ai perfect-ish in the first place.

[@vinescarlan]

Then who makes robots and AI?

[@nileshbhakre7050]

let assume human A is perfect..and human B and C are near perfect. so now let them work together.after completion of work A has done it perfectly.and B and c consider they have done perfectly. Now person A consider both B and C done their part perfectly.so at the end end total work is near perfect.so the perfection is relative term bcoz we can't figure out each other perfection accurate ly. may be flaws allow universe to formed.

[@hridayeshsharma539]

Have you ever heard about Indian Dabbawalas? They will show you what perfection is.

[@tavomuozY]

Not even robots work at 100% accuracy 😅

[@mitchschneider1927]

Doesn't sound at all like what the "new age" Democrats think.

[@colinwoodbury6430]

This is heresy in North America, but common sense in Japan.

[@mscatzord]

This is not the right tedtalk for a neurotic perfectionist :(

[@matildarojas4173]

If you're happy with it it's perfect, live life a little bro.

[@murli777]

This is perfect ❤️ irony those who are against perfectionism want a perfect car, perfect home, perfect mobile phone etc. No one will accept a damaged phone or damaged car or damaged home.

[@MistralMan]

How does that make any sense? Like I 90% disagree with this guy and my phone and car are like 10 years old.

[@Ninja-iq2xt]

Replace humans with machines for perfection.

[@h2energynow]

Who is smart, those willing to learn from everyone.

[@l0g1cseer47]

A perfect talk.

[@ContentFrog]

This man is delusional. If he wants perfection, maybe he should wear a suit to a major presentation instead of looking like the long-lost son of Mitt Romney.

[@Nicoleta.8]

It get what he was trying to say and agree with that, but he exolained it AWFULY like how did he even get on ted, no wonder this hasn't got many likes. He said that we shouldn't fear failure but then goes on to say that perfection is fully posible thing witch is not posible because perfection is LITRELLY not making ANY mistakes. Witch like as a baby you more than likely did more than 1000 so like perfection is DEFFENETLY not the word he should have said.

[@SuigaRou]

The notion of using failure as a means to move forward is good and all, but being perfect? The world doesn't really work like that, mainly because people don't really have the time to do things perfectly all the time. That's why it's so stressful. Yeah, if you're given the resources, you can seek perfection, but there is no shortage of people who not only have to juggle their professional and personal lives, but also work for places where the higher ups don't care about perfection, only the bottom line. They don't care about things being perfect, they care about profits and doing whatever it takes to make that happen, because why waste your time making the perfect burger when people will line up for a Big Mac? Self improvement is a good thing, but the only way the masses can be expected to pursue perfection is if it starts at the top. Our governments and the companies perpetuate the "good enough" attitude, so how can individuals be expected to seek perfection when the world around them reeks of flaws? And thus we, as a collective, shrug our shoulders and take what we can get. It's a cycle, it's human nature, and it's very difficult to change.