No Perfect People Allowed

My son recently went on a mission trip that was partnered with the Restored Church in Wilkes Barre, PA. One of their core values is “no perfect people allowed”. This is in stark contrast with the culture of medicine – you are supposed to be perfect, whatever you do is supposed to be perfect.

Perfectionism has been viewed as the norm. It is the ultimate standard that many believe they have to go after, especially for physicians. Get straight A’s, the perfect SAT score, the perfect MCAT score. Whatever it is, getting a 98% in a test is often treated as a failure. They beat themselves up, to the point that some believe they are not good enough.

“No perfect people allowed” is a good reminder that we, the human beings, are not perfect and that is okay. Accept that we are imperfect. We all have things we are good at, things we need to work on. When you accept that you are not perfect, you open the door to a whole new world. You see the full spectrum of things. You see the good, the bad and the ugly.

When you embrace this value of “no perfect people allowed”, it implies imperfect people are allowed – that is everyone, including yourself. It is okay not to be perfect. It is okay to shed the belief that you have to be perfect. This does not mean you are becoming lazy. This does not mean that you are not serious about your job. It means that when you do your best and the results are not as good as what you expect, you are not beating yourself up. You examine the situation, look at what went well, what can be improved and what you can learn from it.

Allowing imperfection also means that you sometimes leave things imperfect, intentionally. A great example is doing the patient charts. I used to think that each note has to look perfect – whatever that means. That included sentences with correct spelling and grammar, accurate information, even including detailed information about a patient (someone’s whole life). Yes, each patient note should include accurate information about the patient. It is nice to have correct spelling and grammar too, but these are not absolutely necessary. Minor mistakes with spelling do not affect the clinical management or the communication with other clinicians. Would you rather spend 5 minutes on a good enough note or spend 15 minutes writing what you consider a perfect note? Imagine you have a schedule of twenty patients to see. I have learned to write the imperfect, or the good enough, notes. It has not negatively affected patient care. In fact, patient care has improved because I now have more time to focus on clinical medicine rather than being the notetaker. My well-being improved because I now have more time for my family and myself.

I would further extend the idea of “no perfect people” to “no perfect time”. Many people wait until the “perfect” moment to take action. You may not get there. That perfect time you imagined may never arrive. Then you realize that you have wasted time waiting for something that does not exist. No perfect time to take imperfect actions. It is better to set your goal and start doing things to aim for your goal than to wait for whatever timing you are hoping for. Babies do not wait for the perfect moment to be born. Rain does not wait for the perfect second to fall. You do your best given the resources and circumstances. You course correct along the way of your journey toward your goal.

“No perfect people” also means you do not always experience the “perfect” or pleasant emotions. There are times you feel joy, excitement, gratitude and empowered. There are times you feel stressed, angry, panicked and embarrassed. You allow yourself to experience the whole spectrum of emotions, instead of pushing certain unpleasant feelings away. You do not avoid the discomfort of feeling those feelings, you let them be.

We are imperfect and that is okay. We have different personalities, different strengths and weaknesses. We are here to lift one another up. Embrace the imperfections. Do not let that stop you. Allow yourself to be imperfect. Choose intentionally what to do imperfectly to get closer to your goal. Embrace the full human experience by feeling all your emotions.