Embracing Imperfection
A Year-End Reflection
As the year draws to a close, I considered sharing various lessons I've learned. However, one significant insight stands out: none of us needs to be paragons of perfection. The notion that we must have everything together is a fallacy. This doesn't mean we should abandon our pursuit of excellence or resign ourselves to complacency.
Instead, we should recognize that, as humans within a social system, our strength lies in our interactions. By compensating for each other's weaknesses and enhancing our collective strengths, we embody the truth that teamwork makes the dream work.
The Limits of Individual Perspective
It's evident that we each perceive the world through our own experiences. Yet, we often overlook how this limited perspective can lead to misunderstandings, especially concerning our health and performance.
We aren't required to maintain flawless psychologies, emotions, or chemistry. Even if such perfection were attainable, humans are inherently social beings. Some might argue they prefer solitude or identify as introverts. However, consider this: the harshest punishment for the most antisocial individuals (those incarcerated) is solitary confinement. This underscores our intrinsic need for social connection.
Challenging Individualism
From an evolutionary standpoint, humans have notable limitations: we're not particularly strong, agile climbers, or swift runners. However, our substantial brains grant us the ability to solve problems creatively and communicate effectively, enabling cooperation. This cooperative nature has been pivotal in our evolutionary journey and is a topic I've contemplated deeply, both professionally and personally, especially during this mid-life phase.
Individualism is a cornerstone of Western culture, influencing our thoughts, behaviors, and approaches to health and performance. Historical threads from Socratic philosophy through Judeo-Christian ethics to Enlightenment ideals have shaped this perspective, often subconsciously. This worldview suggests that an ideal individual state is achievable—a utopia where all aspects are perfectly aligned. However, this isn't feasible, given the myriad factors beyond our control, such as genetics, upbringing, and early life experiences.
Embracing the Whole Person
Certain aspects of our identity, like temperament, are relatively fixed and significantly impact our interactions with the world. In my work with special operations personnel, I've observed that their externally focused, resilient nature—while beneficial—can make them resistant to self-care. It's essential to acknowledge and address these inherent traits, not to change them fundamentally but to ensure sustainability and well-being for themselves and their families.
Balancing Strengths and Weaknesses
Recognizing that we're all a combination of strengths and weaknesses is crucial. Some challenges can be alleviated; others may only be mitigated. As economist Thomas Sowell aptly stated, "There are no solutions; there are only trade-offs."
Despite our inherent social nature, we must take responsibility for our shortcomings and strive for improvement. While many external factors are beyond our control, we can change our behavior. This pursuit of personal growth contributes to the betterment of the collective, whether in teams, families, or communities.
Applying Social Understanding to Health and Performance
Understanding that, as unique a snowflake as each of us may be, we are part of a relational organism. That is, we evolved as fundamentally social beings, and therefore, things that we see as shortcomings within ourselves are part of a whole package and may not be balanced out perfectly within us but as part of the families, teams, and collectives we are part of.
The practical application of that is this: striving for excellence in our health and performance is a noble and achievable goal. However, due to the nature of this game and the fact that we are singular parts nested in a social organism, individual perfection is neither necessary nor possible. If we understand these larger facts, then we can more effectively use the power of information in more efficient ways. This holds true for the management of our own performance longevity as well as if we happen to be responsible for managing somebody else's.
This perspective allows us to see the whole person within a larger social order. Rather than being narrowly focused, this broader view helps us address solvable problems, mitigate persistent challenges, and set realistic expectations in both cases. This ability to zoom out aligns us with the rhythms of nature, enhancing our use of technologies to better manage ourselves.
Thanks for reading,
Rob