A Perfect Race

Is it possible to have a perfect race?

Thirty five years ago, at the outset of my career as an engineer working in quality assurance and continuous improvement, I had to decide where I stood on the field’s one driving, hotly-debated question:

Is zero defects achievable?

Or are we better off accepting it’s impossible and shooting for a strong goal we can meet, like a 95% defect-free?

It seems like there are only two answers - impossible or possible - but there’s actually a third.

It might be impossible…but why not try?

I believe that’s the best answer, and here’s why.

I started in the idealistic, “Yes, zero defects is possible,” camp.

The company’s performance was full of possibility. The sky was the limit.

My job was to find if people were or weren’t in compliance with requirements. And despite how well they did their jobs, how much they cared, and how well they set up their processes, they were never 100%. I always found myself pointing out how they could get closer.

So I changed my mind, to be realistic.

Which also meant deciding which version of realistic we should shoot for - 90% good or 95% good?

We debated which number was more achievable based on past performance, but it didn’t matter. Both felt depressing because we were giving up on what might be possible.

No more sky to aspire to. We settled into a safe version of what we’d done before, what we already knew we could do. Same old, same old.

Why bother?

I’d never felt less motivated.

So I changed my mind one more time to, “I don’t care if it’s impossible. I want to try.”

Because even if it’s impossible, why not go for it?

If you aim for the 95% goal you can meet, that’s what you’re going to do. You might not be disappointed but you also won’t go further without a goal that pulls you beyond it.

So you don’t even try for the last 5%…that might just be possible.

If you go for 100%, you’ll at least keep getting closer. Way better than stopping at okay 95%.

The same goes for races.

If you aim for the impossible 100% goal - your perfect race - you keep getting better, whether you reach it or not.

Every time you fall short, you learn how to do it better next time, grow in confidence, become more daring, learn to count on yourself, and expand your self belief. You get closer.

Keep at it, DNFs and all, and you’ll become the confident runner you admire.

Plus, it’s a heckuva a lot more fun.

And if you’re honest, I bet you didn’t dream of running these ridiculously impossible distances to be realistic and do what you’ve already been able to do.

You dreamed because you wanted to do something that looked impossible…so why not try?

Keep dreaming.

Keep going for the impossible.

Keep at it - DNFs, disappointing races, bad runs, setbacks and all - and you’ll become the runner that can do the impossible.

Think of it this way. You can have the safely predictable…or you can have the impossible.

Which do you want?

If you decide to go for the impossible, it’s a lot easier with someone by your side to help you deal with the doubts and maintain momentum in spite of disappointments.

Someone who’s been there, time after time. That’s one way I serve my clients.

Use the link in my bio to set up a consult call and let’s define how I can help you go for the impossible.

After all, who’s to say what looks impossible, actually is?