My current boss is someone who I have an unmeasurable amount of respect for.

Within the first few months of working for her, during one of our one-on-one sessions, she explained something to me that I would have never materialized on my own.

She wanted me to know that while a majority of the things she communicated to me were things for improvement, it did not mean that the work already done was not of quality. In other words, the achiever in her is programmed to notice the missing 10 out of 90/100, but that does not mean the existing 90 went unnoticed, or was not of value.

This revelation has caused me to draw similar parallels in my own life.

I, myself, am a perfectionist. (Nothing new there). But having my boss explain to me how she appraises what “good” is has made me realize why I sometimes shroud myself in such negative thoughts.

I’m so focused on getting to the “100”, that it becomes easy for me to ignore the other 99 steps it took for me to get there.

I thank my boss for coming to that realization and sharing it with me. It is now a reminder to myself that I need to recognize and celebrate all the victories (big or small) that add up to achieving that “100”.

This also goes for my appraisal of other people in my life. While I believe that seeing opportunities for improvement is something that will always be hardwired into my brain, the key is that I’m now aware of this–and for me to remember that no one is perfect.

So, if I’ve ever been critical due to shortcomings, please know that it is not because I’m only thinking the worst. But rather because I see the potential of what “100” could be.

I’m making a personal effort to acknowledge every victory as a form of progress. And who knows? Maybe one day I’ll finally achieve that  100/100.