Perfection vs Excellence

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on something I used to carry with me: perfectionism.

Most of my life, people have called me a perfectionist, and for a long time I believed it. But it never felt like it came with love — only negativity. And that always felt strange, because here I was simply caring. And caring is good, right? So why did it feel like I was doing something wrong? Isn’t caring its own kind of beauty?

Then I came across a perspective that changed everything:

Perfectionism is about meeting a standard set by others.
Excellence is about aligning with your own.

This resonated deeply — a real aha moment. Because the truth is, I’m not a perfectionist at all. I don’t need to meet anyone else’s standard. What I value is excellence.

Excellence is about showing up with care and intention. It’s about aligning with my own standards — not striving for flawless, but for wholehearted. And that is enough.

Perfectionism demands control — every petal unblemished, every stem standing tall. But nature doesn’t grow that way does it?. And yet, it is still beautiful.

Excellence is different. It’s a garden well tended, even if a few weeds sneak through. It’s a meal cooked with love, even if the edges are crisp. It’s showing up with presence, not pressure.

And for me, that’s the standard I choose to live my life by: a life of excellence, not perfection. A life aligned with my care, my craft, my way.

Sometimes what looks like perfectionism from the outside is simply someone’s excellence, lived wholeheartedly. We can’t measure another person’s excellence against perfection, because excellence will always look different for each of us. And that’s the beauty of it. It isn’t about being flawless — it’s about being true.

Until we wander again,

Kate