Path to perfection

We spend far too much time pursuing a societal path to perfection. The reality is that trying to facilitate millions of individuals with different goals, aspirations, belief systems, and values into some kind of arbitrary utopia is impossible. We wouldn’t agree on what utopia looked like even if we happened upon it.

Even a marriage between two people doesn’t usually achieve its highest form of existence purely through collaboration, though, of course, great communication, mutual goals and shared ambitions go a long way.

The surest way to the proverbial “top” begins with the individual. Even in marriage or an intimate friendship, I’ve found that focusing on being the best version of me – striving to be patient, gracious, understanding, disciplined – pays greater dividends than focusing on my marriage itself, much less focusing on “fixing” my wife’s shortcomings.

On a macro level, hard work, personal responsibility, respect for others, and individual fortitude will go a lot further than a conversation aimed at getting everyone on the same page. The latter will never happen.