Success deals with progresses

This scene from the film “Friday night lights’’ seems like an unsuccessful attempt to imitate “Any Given Sunday”, the famous scene where Al Pacino encourages the players in the dressing room. That part is so overused in the world of training, that watching it has to me the opposite effect.

Back to the proposed scene, I decided to review it because some parts go in line with my ideas.

Perfection, for example.

“Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It’s not about winning. It’s about you and your relationship to yourself and your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didn’t let them down, because you told them the truth. And that truth is that you did everything that you could. There wasn’t one more thing that you could’ve done.

Can you live in that moment, as best you can, with clear eyes and love in your heart? With joy in your heart? If you can do that, gentlemen, then you’re perfect.”

The idea of perfection that we have is often a recipe for failure, as the criteria to reach it are not ours but are taken from education, from expectations of other people or society.

We are born perfect. A child that has fun with a gift wrap, instead of the toy, expresses an idea of perfection that over the years will be substracted from him: do what it pleases you no matter what other people say. You know when a child plays happily with the wrap or the packaging and everyone wants to make him appreciate the gift that has been given to him?

It starts like this, up to the moment when, because of the need of approval, we start to look for a perfection that doesn’t exist. Testing ourselves and going to sleep knowing that we have done everything possible for yourself, for our family, for our friends, it is a beautiful meaning of perfection.

Because it is up to you

Because there are no comparisons, if they are not with the person you were yesterday

Because it rejoins you with the unquestionable principles of life

When you are young, perfection is about reaching objectives. After you grow up, you start enjoying the journey while you reach them. Like the coach Gary Gaines says: “Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It’s not about winning”; if you think like this, you are destined for a life of suffering, because you win and you lose in the course of existence. But if, instead, you try your best to do the best you can with what you have, then the feeling of serenity and consistency will probably lead you to victory and to the achievement of your goals. Now you’re perfect.

The others will look at your results and will say: how did he make it?

If a golf player would want to centre a hole hundreds of metres away, the probabilities of failure would be very high. With one failure comes frustration, with two failures, often, comes the surrender.

But if you do the best you can, knowing how to come close to the flag, and then the best you can, knowing you’re getting closer to the hole, your progress will lead you to victory. 

As one of my friend says: “Success deals with progresses, not with perfection”