Maintaining a Mindset of Excellence

Jamie S. Walters, chief vision & strategy officer at Ivy Sea Online offers her take on "Maintaining a Mindset of Excellence," in which she compares and contrasts the fundamental differences between perfection and excellence.

The mindset of a person focused on perfection:

• Critical
• Harried and time-crunched
• Unable to see the big picture
• Stressed
• Unconfident
• Rarely, if ever, allowing a sense of true accomplishment and personal reward

In contrast, the person concentrating on excellence has a mindset of:

• Continual growth and learning
• Satisfaction of a job well-done and clients served
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Satisfaction, due to an ability to complete things and move on
• Lower stress thanks to clarified expectations
• Strong sense of meaningful accomplishment

How to make the transition from being a perfectionist to becoming excellent?

• Take a reality check
• Identify what’s most important (Discipline I. Decide What's Important)
• Set clear expectations (Discipline II. Set Goals That Lead)
• Identify perfectionist triggers
• Consider using a coach (Six Disciplines Centers)
• Delegate
• Take baby steps

BOTTOMLINE: Don't try to be perfect. Instead ......Be Excellent™