Imperfection is a Gift

We relentlessly seek perfection but it’s a lie. A brutal taskmaster who gives no room for error.

And in no error there is no learning.

And in no learning, there is no growth.

↳ Imperfection is a gift.

↳ Impermanence is a gift.

↳ Joy, the philosopher notes, is not found in the absence of sorrow but in the acceptance of it.

In these challenging times, I have found great peace in a simple hobby I have developed of walking my dogs and trying to really sense and connect to the world I am traveling through.

Sometimes, I enjoy taking pictures of simple or plain things and trying to reveal the fleeting beauty of a moment, a touch of frost, or a trick of the light.

Occasionally, I post some of these images to my photos-only instagram page @r._.pix , though most-often, I keep these little gems to myself.

They are a small reminder to me that finding beauty in imperfect or impermanent things reveals a beauty of its own.

Said another way, there is beauty all around...

And, as it turns out this little hobby of mine is connected to a deep, very old Japanese and Taoist tradition called wabi-sabi and a connected art form, kintsugi

Wabi-sabi & Kintsugi

Wabi-sabi is defined by author Leonard Koren as "finding beauty in things that are imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete"

Like my pictures!

And Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together and using gold to highlight the breaks rather than hide them.

It is the idea that things are better because of their imperfections.

↳ WE are better BECAUSE of our imperfections.

In 2018, Tiffany Ayuda wrote for Better Today magazine that

"[Kintsugi is] built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art. Every break is unique and instead of repairing an item like new, the 400-year-old technique actually highlights the 'scars' as a part of the design. Using this as a metaphor for healing ourselves teaches us an important lesson: Sometimes in the process of repairing things that have broken, we actually create something more unique, beautiful and resilient."

Take Aways

Earlier this year, I faced the realization that the fractional recruiting company I had founded, ConnectedWell, had run its course, and I needed to close the company down .

Publicly and privately, people have shared with me their worry or disappointment that we had to close our doors, and I think people expected me to be deeply sad or torn up about it.

However, amid the greatest layoffs in tech in this generation , it doesn't come as a surprise to me that our company, who supplied many tech companies with talent, ran out of runway also.

While shutting down a company is much harder than starting one, I am inspired to recall that we still built amazing things, learned amazing lessons and accomplished incredible milestones .

Covering all those things up or throwing them in the dust bin would be a disgrace to all the time, heartache and toil spent building that business from $0 to $1.5MM ARR in five years across three continents.

No.

We cherish and learn from these lessons-learned and talk openly about them as they are the roots from which we will build whatever comes next.

In fact, as I am talking with companies and leaders, I am finding some systemic changes have occurred in how hiring and technical work will likely look over the next few years and decades. I am leaning into that and researching ways to support companies as they struggle to adapt to the new normal.

For now, this business is in stealth mode, but we are building something from the lessons learned and new struggles companies are facing in a post-pandemic working world. Stay tuned.

I hope that, as you face challenging times, be they layoffs , or uncertainty, I hope you will consider this ancient concept of wabi-sabi--of finding joy in the imperfect--and consider applying some GOLD to the cracks in your life, like a Kintsugi master, to allow yourself to prize your learnings.

↳ Because YOU are better BECAUSE of your imperfections.

HAVE YOU HAD SUCCESS EMBRACING YOUR IMPERFECTIONS?

Please use the comments to share what you learn. I cannot wait to celebrate with you!

I am Robert Merrill .

My superpower is helping companies solve their people problems through sustainable hiring systems & processes.

↳Follow me on Linkedin and ↳Subscribe to Limitless Talent.

I have been in recruiting and leading talent acquisition efforts at global technology companies since 2005. I founded, led and eventually closed a fractional recruiting agency from scratch in 2018 and grew it to lead a team of up to 38 people across 3 continents, servicing 74 clients from series A to Fortune 100.

I am seeing many companies locally who are struggling to rebuild their teams after struggling through deep layoffs and not sure how to proceed.

I am currently seeking full-time leadership roles in talent acquisition/recruiting or recruiting ops, or technical contract recruiting opportunities.

If you need to develop your hiring superpowers, contact me .