A ceramics teacher once split his class into two groups.

The first group would be graded on quantity. Their assignment was simple. Make as many pots as possible. The more they produced, the higher their grade.

The second group would be graded on quality. Their task was to create one perfect pot. They could take the entire term planning it, refining it, and thinking through every detail.

At the end of the class, something unexpected happened.

The highest-quality pots came from the quantity group. The reason is simple: excellence is earned through iteration because perfection waits and progress teaches.

The students who focused on output did not aim for perfection; they stumbled into it by heavy repetition. They focus on action and letting feedback shape their next attempt.

I think about that research often because it shows up everywhere, and we are all guilty of being the quality group versus the quantity group in the study.

We want to be perfect, so we pause. We want everything to be flawless, so we wait. I have come to believe that we stall because we want the first version to be the final version.

But that’s not how excellence works.

The path towards the outcomes we want is not about perfection; it is about progress. It is about trying to get a little better than the last attempt. So here is the thought to carry with you today:

Take one task in front of you and resist the urge to be perfect. Instead, iterate on it. Ship it, learn from it, then improve it.

That is how we can learn and apply from the study done by the ceramics teacher.

P.S. The Optimistic Outlook is a Podcast! Leaving a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts would mean a lot.