The Economics of Perfection

My first impression upon seeing my son laying on his stomach next to a perfectly straight line of open rattlesnake books practicing his rattlesnake drawings. Boy is he determined. Another minute of observing and I began to feel a little bit concerned too. You see, he quickly became unsatisfied with his drawing and tossed it on to a pile of about 20 other discarded drafts. I later discovered he had been at it for close to two hours without feeling satisfied about a single one. The only reason he stopped is that he ran out of paper. I tried to help him find some more, but all we really had left, besides some scraps, was a new ream of printer paper. Suddenly, an image popped into my mind of a discarded draft pile 520 pages high. I wasn't sure what to say or do. On the one hand, I want to encourage him to strive for excellence, not mediocrity. And, if he is self-motivated enough to practice 520 times in one day, he will certainly draw excellent rattlesnakes. On the other hand, a four-year old sure wastes a lot of paper. He only drew one snake per sheet. We already had him use the backs, but you can fit a lot of snakes on each side, especially if it's only practice. For a minute, I was afraid I would altar the future of a little boy destined to be the world's greatest rattlesnake artist. This was a surprisingly tough decision to make. I discouraged him from using the printer paper. Ultimately, after finding some more pieces of scratch paper, I could tell he looked sad. So, I dropped down to his height and asked him what was wrong. He said he wasn't happy with any of his drawings. I told him that it was okay. He was just practicing, and the more he practiced the better he would get until he was happy with them. Finally, I told him I was proud that he was working so hard. He burst into tears and ran to his mother. Apparently, I didn't say the right thing. I was so surprise by his reaction that I sat by to see what my wife would tell him. My wife told him that when she practices something for a long time without taking a little break, she gets worse at it, but that a snack break would give his brain more energy to try again later. Of course, she said the right thing and my son was happy. Until I figure out what what I said was wrong and what she said was right, I hope our son continues to persist. What ever he chooses to do with his life, he will be truly great at it, even if we have to budget for extra paper.