Perfect is the enemy of good.
Many of us are perfectionists in our own right. I know I am at times. We set high bars for ourselves and put our best foot forward. We dedicate copious amounts of time and attention to our work to maintain our high personal standards. Our passion for excellence drives us to run the extra mile, never stopping, never relenting. And this dedication towards perfection undoubtedly helps us to achieve results… So long as we don’t get carried away.
But what happens when we do get carried away with perfectionism?
We become disgruntled and discouraged when we fail to meet the
(impossibly high) standards we set for ourselves, making us reluctant to
take on new challenges or even finish tasks we’ve already started. Our
insistence on dotting every ‘I’ and crossing every ‘T’ breeds
inefficiency, causing major delays, stress overload and subpar results.
True perfectionists have a hard time starting things and an even
harder time finishing them… always. I have a friend who has wanted to
start a graphic design business for several years. But she hasn’t yet.
Why? When you sift through her extensive list of excuses it comes down
to one simple problem: She is a perfectionist. Which means she
doesn’t, and never will, think she’s good enough at graphic design to
own and operate her own graphic design business.
Remember, the real world doesn’t reward perfectionists. It rewards
people who get things done. And the only way to get things done is to
be imperfect 99% of the time. Only by wading through years of practice
and imperfection can we begin to achieve momentary glimpses of the
perfection.
So make a decision. Take action. Learn from the outcome. And
repeat this method over and over and over again in all walks of life.
Also, check out Too Perfect
. It’s an excellent read on conquering perfectionism.
. It’s an excellent read on conquering perfectionism.