An Olympic Dialogue: Perfection or Practice

As I was channel surfing this week, I settled on the Olympic coverage of the women's figure skating short program.  It was amazing to watch these skilled athletes performing routines that had been developed over many months and years.  The grace and beauty... when the program unfolded as planned; the disappointment... when the routine was interrupted by a fall or misstep; and the thrill of being entertained by individuals who were willing to share their talents!

What I noticed in the commentary and replays were the focus on The Fall... The Disappointment... The Mistake...  being lowered in the rankings and possibly the loss of an expected medal.   Interviewing those athletes who had difficulty in their program, the questions tended to focus on the unexpected.  In contrast, the athlete talked about The Learning Gained in the midst of these seemingly imperfect moments.

Olympic Dialogue:  Seeking Perfection

Russia's Alina Zagitova - PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games
(Photo Credit:  New York Times)

I wondered...

• How often do I seek perfection in my relationships and communication?
• When do I over-replay those moments when I or a friend fell short?
• Do I learn from moments of imperfection?
• Can I be content that I have tried?

Consider the following: 

• The leader of this Olympic event scored 82.92, a Short Program record. 
• Outfielder Ty Cobb, whose career ended in 1928, still holds the highest batting average in Major League Baseball:  .366 over 24 seasons. 
• The 2016 Golden State Warriors had the winningest professional basketball season:  73 - 9 (.890). 
• Only one NFL team has played a complete perfect season (regular season and playoffs):  the 1972 Miami Dolphins who won all 14 games and 3 postseason games, including the Super Bowl (17 - 0 - 0). 

 

We are faced with an intriguing question:  is perfection necessarily a result -- a score -- or are we invited into a quest -- a journey -- to understand imperfection?

Olympic Dialogue:  Reality Hits

Click on comic to enlarge
(Pickles, Brian Crane, January 10, 2018)

When we review our relationships:  Do we expect perfection... from ourselves?  ...from others?  Maybe the reality is that we don't always hear or understand.  Maybe we are doing our best.  Maybe we need to practice more.  And, like the athletes, maybe we can refocus our response by observing the Lessons Learned.

The dialogue journey encourages that:  we practice our dialogue skills; we take risks by trying; and we learn from those moments when we hit a bump in the ice.

Olympic Dialogue:  Each Day Provides New Discoveries
(Photo Credit:  Jerry Singleton)

The Olympic moments in our lives requires an acceptance that perfection may be an illusion.  The practice, the attempt, and the learning are the goals.  Each day provides opportunities to recognize anew those lessons from yesterday and to strive... not for perfection, but for understanding and learning.

As the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics recede into memory, may we remember the coming together of athletes who risked moments of learning.  We were privileged to witness all of their triumphs!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

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