I’m a big fan of outlandish and unrealistic goals, but it makes sense to be a bit pragmatic with them from time to time. One example is striving for perfection in all things.

This isn’t the same as striving for zero errors in the production of widgets, or striving for 100% customer satisfaction; I’m talking about striving for infallibility.

Instead of striving to be without fault (which I suppose is a noble goal, but far loftier than my mortal brain can manage), it might be worthwhile to strive to be better every day.

It’s a deceptively simple goal, but it’s decidedly not easy to consistently implement. It also requires that we’re specific about what we’re improving.

It stops being fun after a while (how do you continuously optimize your finances anyway? who wants to call companies to negotiate a $30 discount on a deductible every year, for example…), but we can start with something we want to improve, determine what success looks like, and map out the steps to reach the goal.

By the way, how are those New Years Resolutions coming along? 🙂