This article is not to declare that we as humans will ever reach perfection. The pursuit to perfection consists of knowing you will never be perfect, but you can strive to get close to perfection. This concept has stuck with me since high school. My high school coach Josh Giles, was the man that taught me about this. He is all about perfection, he wants his players to be perfect in the classroom, he wants to structure his practices, he wants to discipline his players, he wants his players to dress appropriately, and he wants his players to be great leaders of the community. There is no way we can accomplish perfection, but striving to accomplish that will make us into great and successful people.
As a basketball player, I grew up with playing for very prestigious coaches. From 4th grade, I played for Coach Ken Caldwell. He taught us the game like we were high school players. When I got to high school, it was an easy transition for me because Coach Caldwell prepared me very well. In high school I played for Coach Josh Giles, who has won CIF Coach of the Year and HSGameTime Coach of the Year multiple times. He made my transition into college basketball easier for me because he ran college level practices. It gave me the chance to be able to experience being apart of a Coach Steve Alford UNM Lobos team, something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
I tell you this because for all three programs, I received a compliment from them that means the world to me. Coach Caldwell, Coach Giles, and Coach Alford; all said that I represent their program in the best way possible. Coach Caldwell has told me that I was one of his favorite players he has ever coached. When I go back to visit my high school in Corona, California; the coaches let the players know who I am, because I was one of the players that set an example and standard for what Centennial Husky basketball is about. The MaxPreps rankings had Corona Centennial listed in Top 10 in the nation to finish the season this year. For me to be apart of that program gives me the most pride. When I was finishing up my senior season, people of the UNM Lobos program, from coaches to fans, told me I did a good job of representing a Lobo. And I rarely played, I just practiced and played a few minutes.
Wherever you go, pursue perfection in all aspects of your life. The place you work or the school you are at, that is who you represent. Take pride in being the best possible person you can be, no matter what role you play. I played a very small role at UNM, I never started a game in high school, but the positions I was given, was for me to represent the program as a whole. It was never about me, it was about the team. Having that attitude has led me to experience great things and gain great opportunities.
There are some people that have accomplished a lot, so they get under the impression that they do not have anything to work for. I see it in athletics a lot, there are athletes that settle for being the best player on their team, they may even settle for being the best player in the state, or just one of the best players in the state. They have a good game, and they think they do not need much practice. Or athletes do not think they have to work as hard because they are ahead of their competition. In anything, there is no settling, regardless of how good you are. You can be the best player in the world, but if that stops you from working hard, then someone else will come in and take that title. There are players right now, working extremely hard, and they are not one of the best. There are some of the best athletes in the country that are not working hard because they are settling for what they have. You even see it in the NBA, some players just want to say they made it to the league. Those players do not last long, the players that last long pursue perfection. They pursue being the best player in the league or the best player they can become.
The evil to being great is being good, if you think you are good enough, you will not strive for greatness. If you are the best employee at your work, continue to get better so you can get promoted. If you are the best student at your school, do not stop working hard. It is painful to pursue perfection, it is painful to live a life of regret; the difference is that the pain from pursuing perfection has rewards and blessings. Regret leaves you in a state of pain. Whether you have accomplished a lot or have failed many times, it is never too late or early to pursue perfection. You may think you have messed up too much, you may see the people around you and feel overwhelmed in the sense that you cannot pursue perfection. It all roots to patience, if you have patience, you will understand that you will not get better overnight, you will not succeed right away, you are going to have to work hard and stay on that pursuit. Once you prove that you are willing to pursue perfection and stay faithful on that pursuit, the rewards will come and the blessings will come. The pain and hard work comes first, so you have to fight through all the negativity and doubters in order to succeed.
In a race, if you are running behind, you cannot tell yourself you will not win before the race is even finished. Even if you do not feel like you can win, try as hard as you can to get close to winning. If you are leading a race, know that there are people behind you that want to catch you and win, so do not slow down, keep pushing so there is a less chance someone will catch you. It is not about where you start, it is how you finish. You can start off good or you can start off bad, but in both positions, you still have to finish strong and attempt to win. Never count yourself out, never tell yourself you cannot be bigger than who you are. You can accomplish so much, because I just look back to last year, and I have seen that I have accomplished a lot since then. I could have stopped trying to accomplish new things. I have 4 championship rings and I am have the most wins for a walk-on in UNM history. But in no way did I ever think I am done from accomplishing new things. No matter how old I get, I am always going to want to accomplish something new. It is hard to stop someone that is so driven to be the best person they can be. Apart of that drive is willing to learn new ways to pursue greatness, never think because you have done something a certain way, is going to continue to work. As we get older, there will be new ways to do things and new opportunities to accomplish. Do not be in the lead and finish weak, do not be behind and give up. Endure until the end, do not limit yourself, pursue perfection and let's see how close you get to it!
Thank you for reading! Any questions, feedback, and prayer requests are encouraged!
Sincerely,
Christopher Edward Perez
Twitter: @C_P_2
Instagram: @cperez02
Facebook: Chris E Perez
email: cperez0116@yahoo.com
