It never amazes me how deep the roots are of our personal values. But unlike those who would rather be totally self-deterministic in some false sense of empowerment for its own sake, I would rather embrace them as consistent personality strengths and weaknesses I can make the best of.
Why bring this up? I asked my Dad the other day what kind of advice Grandpa gave him over the years. There were two things that came to mind: “If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all” and “Do the hardest part of anything first.”
It was amusing (but no surprise) that I recall attempting to instill these tidbits (the former in particular) in Christina. I don’t know if it took … time will tell. But I can see why I insist on doing things right, not just adequately. Sometimes I take it too far and need to be gentle with myself, but other times it means that when I can’t do something what I think is a truly good job, it’s still far better than the other guy would have done it.
And I can live with that. Thanks Dad. Thanks Grandpa.