The curse of a critical eye

My kids deal with it.

The associates at work deal with it.

Our sales associates deal with it most.

Things are going pretty well...really well.

We have great kids. Good hearts, sweet spirits, high performers, good choice in friends, not snooty. Yet I still will seek out those faults wanting even more.

Business is going well. People are working hard, getting it done, and most have some tremendously positive traits, that I recognize and praise (praise gets equal billing from the boss). Yet we continuously work on "blind spots" or "improvement areas", point out things that are unacceptable relative to our brand and the presentation of it...like timeliness, clean and neat appearance, presentation style, etc. Like the coach that grades his all pro lineman and forces him to watch game film to view the 2 plays out of 38 that he blew his assignment...in fact, that's the analogy I use to justify it.

I talk about pursuing excellence, not being acceptable.

One sales associate cried recently...saying it is just so hard.

It started in the Navy...with the inspection cycle. Things had to be just so...if it wasn't points were taken away. It's continued.

Now the critical eye consumes how I watch ball games, track meets, work performance, dinner prep, and probably most critical of me...so it's equal opportunity.

I know American society plays a role in this. Our insatiable desire for more (productivity, money, stuff, status...the American Dream).

What I don't know is how does this critical eye flush out Biblically. Is there room for this in the Kingdom? If the answer is no, how do I perform my role at work effectively without it?

Just thinking.