Wanting perfection, rather than needing it, stops us from getting started in the first place. There is no blocker more potent than the desire to be doing something perfectly, and then the fear that it won’t be. This stifles confidence. 

 

As a golfer of medium ability, I strive for perfection, yet subconsciously know I can’t have it. Standing over a ball, I convince myself I need to make that shot, to strike it like a pro who hits a thousand balls a week (even they can’t achieve it time after time in a game which is so tough to master). I am just out there to have fun, and hopefully get a little better as I go. Accept a little imperfection, and I will - on balance - go home happy. 

 

In the book Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Dr Bob Rotella, he talks of the tightening of muscles as we cling on to the need to hit the perfect golf shot, when that is the very thing preventing it. Swing freely, and trust your muscle memory. The more you do something, the better you get at it. It’s not perfect, but the neural networks become grooved the more you do something. I love the phrase "practice makes permanent".