The devil is in the detail

I've always been branded the "detail-oriented" guy and some people interpreted me of that as someone who's uptight and so meticulously hard to please. I don't blame them for such branding or perception. In fact, I feel good knowing my effort to be perfect in most things I do is being noticed, if not chastised. It's really a standard I set myself up just because I always feel like in life there shouldn't be room for silly mistakes and overlooked things that might cause inconvenience if not problems later on.

I have a basic idea how I end up like this. From where I came from to where I've been and where I am now, the road I took required strict adherance to perfection and the ability to figure out things on my own and survive without relying on someone else's compromising help and guidance. In a sense I was a survivor of my own war and the battle for success in my own life without having to owe anyone any favor.

Now, is that bad?

Sometimes I think I am my own worst enemy! I tend to administer to others the same logical thinking I've so used to, not realizing others have their own way of living and dealing with things. To keep reminding them over and over again that the devil is always in the detail is a battle I will never win.

I don't require perfection because we all know that's not going to happen at all. What I demand of myself though (and sometimes of others) is near-perfection and paying attention to small details. I believe half of the things that makes life more enjoyable, challenging, and worth spending more of our time is in the detail. It is in these details I'll find pure satisfaction and happiness knowing everything is in order and that I don't have to later deal with some other minutiae that keep my blood pressure at higher level than normal. I am talking about those little things that if only I didn't ignore in the first place, it wouldn't cause grief in the end. There are already enough bigger challenges in this world that I want no more in my plate to swallow.

I am a very pratical and analytical person, not an idealist one! I never dream of myself of bringing peace to the world and slaying vampires at the same time. One thing I am is that I have a very good perception of possible problems looming in the horizon. What I do is think ahead of creative ways to solve them before it becomes a serious annoyance and threat to my simple happiness.

I am known at work to be a persistent and resilient problem-solver but not really a good problem-handler, if there's such a word. I do freak out when things are not in order. I do sometimes take the easy route tho...I just ignore the problem! Isn't that ironic? :-)

Just another one of my ramblings....