When I was a young boy growing up in rural Oklahoma, my older brother introduced me to snipe hunting. All afternoon, he and his friends filled my head with thoughts of catching a snipe. As the sun set, the adventure began. My evening of snipe hunting was fruitless and frustrating, but my brother found it entertaining.

I now know that a snipe is an imaginary animal. For generations, the snipe hunt prank has been a source of amusement among kids. Of course, catching a snipe is impossible, but on that one night I was determined to bag a trophy specimen. I’ve never again tried snipe hunting. One time of pursuing something that doesn’t exist is enough.

I’ve come to the same conclusion about our culture’s definition of excellence. Like the snipe, it’s an impossible quarry. We often define excellence as perfection, the condition of being free from flaws or defects. Catching excellence in that form is as elusive as hunting snipe, and just as frustrating.

Even after long seasons of hunting perfection, my life, my family, my marriage and my ministry still have flaws. Those hunting days are over, but settling for mediocrity is not the answer. I can’t abandon the pursuit of excellence, but I need to balance it with biblical understanding. Here are three keys to staying on track in your life and ministry.

1. Experience a revival in the definition of excellence. The Bible’s language for excellence includes forward-moving words like “abounding,” “increase,” “exceeding” and “better.” Our culture focuses on the end result of perfection, but Scripture focuses on the progressive movement toward a better life in Christ. Our balanced goal should be striving to improve rather than arriving at perfection.

Our culture focuses on perfection, but Scripture focuses on the progressive movement toward a better life in Christ.

2. Embrace the effort for better and best. It’s vital to start asking how to make it better instead of asking how to make it perfect. Better is an attainable goal. Better is measurable. Better can move us forward without the frustration of impossible goals. We can have better marriage relationships. We can become better parents. We can move ministry to the next level.

3. Enjoy the journey. Remember that the way of the Cross was joy to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). When stress-filled days and sleepless nights displace the joy of the journey, something is wrong. Faulty expectations of greatness help explain the soaring burnout rate among ministry leaders.

When joy disappears, energy soon follows. If you’re experiencing a time of joylessness, check your expectations. What are you pursuing? What has to change for the joy of the Lord to once again become your strength? As leaders, we can easily confuse the two different philosophies of being productive and bearing fruit. Joy seems to fade in my life when I shift from growing the fruit that honors God to simply cranking out results, completing deadlines and marking off tasks.

It’s not about perfection; it’s about pleasing Him.

This article originally appeared in the April/May 2017 edition of Influence magazine.