I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business. — Michael J. Fox
—What lingers after this line?
A Humane Standard for Living
Michael J. Fox draws a vital distinction between striving well and demanding the impossible. By saying excellence is within reach while perfection belongs to God, he frames human effort as meaningful precisely because it is limited. In other words, the quote relieves us of the fantasy that worth depends on flawlessness. This perspective immediately shifts the tone of ambition. Rather than treating every mistake as failure, it encourages us to see growth as the true measure of success. As a result, excellence becomes an active, hopeful practice, while perfection is recognized as an unreachable absolute.
Why the Difference Matters
Once that distinction is made, the emotional consequences become clear. Perfectionism often turns effort into anxiety, because any outcome short of ideal feels deficient. By contrast, excellence asks for dedication, discipline, and sincerity without insisting on total control over results. Psychologists such as Gordon Flett and Paul Hewitt, known for their work on perfectionism in the late 20th century, have shown how rigid perfectionistic standards are linked to stress, self-criticism, and burnout. Fox’s formulation offers a corrective: aim high, certainly, but do not make impossible purity the price of self-respect.
The Wisdom of Accepting Limits
From there, the quote opens into a deeper philosophical and spiritual insight: human beings are finite. The line ‘perfection is God’s business’ does not merely express modesty; it acknowledges that there are boundaries built into human life. Religious traditions have long emphasized this distinction between human striving and divine completeness, and St. Augustine’s writings, especially in the early 5th century, repeatedly return to the idea that human beings pursue the good imperfectly. Seen this way, accepting limits is not defeatism but wisdom. It allows effort to remain earnest without becoming self-punishing, and it replaces prideful control with humility.
Resilience in the Face of Imperfection
That humility becomes especially powerful when life does not cooperate with our plans. Michael J. Fox’s own public life, shaped by his Parkinson’s diagnosis and memoirs such as Lucky Man (2002), gives this quote added force. He is not speaking abstractly; he is articulating a way to live when control is partial and dignity must coexist with vulnerability. Consequently, excellence comes to mean showing up fully under imperfect conditions. It is the athlete adjusting after injury, the parent doing their best on a hard day, or the artist revising a flawed draft instead of abandoning it. Imperfection, in this light, does not cancel effort; it gives effort its courage.
A Better Model for Work and Creativity
In practical terms, Fox’s idea is liberating for anyone who makes, leads, teaches, or cares for others. Perfectionism often delays action: the unwritten page, the postponed decision, the project never shared. Excellence, however, invites iteration. A musician practices the passage again, a teacher improves the lesson next semester, and a leader learns from an imperfect call rather than pretending error is unacceptable. This is why many creative traditions value revision over purity. Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird (1994), with its famous defense of the ‘shitty first draft,’ captures the same truth from another angle: good work emerges through process, not immaculate first attempts.
Ambition Tempered by Grace
Ultimately, the quote proposes a mature form of ambition. It does not tell us to lower standards; rather, it asks us to pursue high standards with grace. Excellence still requires effort, accountability, and care, yet it leaves room for mercy toward oneself and others. In the end, that balance may be the quote’s deepest gift. When we stop worshipping perfection, we become more capable of real achievement, real learning, and real compassion. What remains is not complacency but a steadier, more generous way of living—one that honors aspiration without denying our humanity.
One-minute reflection
What feeling does this quote bring up for you?
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