"Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress." - me.

"I may not be the best the best at anything, but that is good, because I can always learn to be better. I think this is the difference between high self-esteem and narcissism." - also me.

Yes, the first quote is based on various similar quotes, but that is how I phrased it yesterday in a conversation, and I'm using that exact phrasing for this note. It is, in my opinion, extremely important.

This is what I am learning, really in all aspects of my life. It is so universal (to me) that I think it may become something like a core tenant of my world view. Let me break it down a little further.

I am far from perfect.

This is not in a religious/sin context. I don't believe in that. It isn't even necessarily in a moral context. This doesn't assume that I am living up to anyone else's expectations, or even my own, really. What I am saying here is even though I might wish for something very strongly, the actions that I actually do are not always 100% aligned with that wish. I might wish to never eat pastries again, because I know they are very bad for me, and still find myself eating a donut. I might wish to have the best relationship ever, and still find myself doing things that would undermine it. I may wish for friends, but actually spend very little time actually doing the things I know will create and improve my relationships with others. I may wish to spend more time with my family, and find myself playing games on my phone or typing long notes into Nostr.

It is this breakdown in logic that is my basis for stating I am anything less than perfect. And I know that this isn't pure logic; the breakdown exists because of logical incentives that influence action; my actions are still reasoned; they still align with the Austrian principles of human action, even if on the surface, they seem to be contradictory. But that isn't the point here.

The best I believe I can expect of myself is NOT perfection. The best I can expect is to be able to learn and improve. This means first accepting non-perfection, and becoming aware that learning and improvement are possible, then pursuing those paths.

This is especially important in relation to my health initiatives, my struggles with various habits and addictions, and my interpersonal relationships. It is also important with my relationship with myself.

The humility to comprehend, accept, and embrace imperfection is, in my opinion, the essence of good self-esteem, and the opposite of egotism or narcissism.

And what follows from good self-esteem is the confidence that I am able to learn from my imperfections and improve upon them, without giving up hope or assuming anything is as good as it will ever be. I can accept that everything is good enough for NOW, though, because there is nothing else to do with NOW but accept it. There is nothing to be done with the PAST other than learn from it. There is no need to regret, or condemn, or dismiss.

The only positive path forward is to learn and improve. This is progress, in the positive sense.

I am able to learn from everything I perceive. Even if my perceptions are later found to be false or mistaken, I am still able to learn from them. In fact, I must always assume my perceptions are true - or to take a meta-step, assume that my analysis of my perceptions is true. This is where I make the leap to believing that all emotions are true, as emotions are an analysis of perception. In this, I am also able to learn from my emotions, and use them to improve as well.

This is not what we have been taught, that emotions are to be disregarded, or that emotions are illogical, dangerous, capricious, etc.. Not at all; emotions are the truest, most important things we will encounter. Without emotions, our actions will no longer seek to improve upon our imperfections; they will only optimize for some logical extreme. We lose the ability to accept the present when we ignore emotion.

That's far enough down this thought path for NOW. I'm sure I will revisit it and refine it as I learn and improve. But this is my progress as of TODAY.