The trouble with perfectionism is that it keeps us focused on failure. If that’s you, it’s time to let go of it because doing so will free you up to enjoy your successes.
“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without”.
Know when Good Enough is Good Enough
It’s now many years since I completed my MBA. I learned a lot and forgot a lot. But the one thing I’ll always remember is a throwaway line by one of the tutors.
He said, “Know when good enough is good enough”.
I admit to being a perfectionist: anything I put my name to has to be just right.
For example, my degrees, business reports, presentations, public speaking, or whatever had to be as perfect as I could make them.
It wasn’t easy getting to that point, and I was reluctant to settle for anything less.
So, at the time, I was uncomfortable with what my MBA tutor had said.
You see, my spelling and grammar used to be shockingly bad. But I had a good tutor: when it came to writing, my late wife was brilliant and gifted. She taught, encouraged, cajoled, and ridiculed me (lovingly, of course). My children also joined in the fun, laughing at my expense.
But it paid off, and my spelling and grammar improved to the point where it now annoys me to see similar mistakes in other people’s work.
Overcoming Perfectionism
Still, for all that, I’ve come to appreciate the tutor’s advice: “know when good enough is good enough”. In all likelihood, the tutor has forgotten what he said, yet it’s made such a difference in how I view my workload. Along the way, I’ve learned how to overcome perfectionism.
I’ve come to accept that striving for perfection is not realistic.
- It’s far better to complete a task on time than to miss a deadline just because I want it to be perfect.
- And it’s acknowledging the point at which using up more resources, be that time or money, will make no appreciable difference to the outcome.
As a marketer, I need to remember that it’s better to make money from a less-than-perfect product than wait until my product is perfect, which may never be. To quote Confucius, “Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without”.
Screw it; Do it.
One of my former Internet marketing mentors, Ryan Levesque, has a favourite mantra, “Screw it, just do it”, which is not that much different from “know when good enough is good enough”. Instead, Ryan encourages his students to ‘put it out there’ and see what happens.
Is Ryan encouraging shoddy work? Not at all. Following Ryan’s method, I could launch a product using a live webinar and make as many changes as necessary when I have some customer feedback. Then the final version can be recorded and used/sold as is.
This method might only work for some things we attempt. But learning when ‘good enough is good enough’ is still excellent advice, which I intend to follow rather than allow perfectionism to rule my life.
What is Perfection, Anyhow?
I like the way Brené Brown answers that question. She says, “Many people think of perfectionism as striving to be your best, but it is not about self-improvement; it’s about earning approval and acceptance”.
Now that’s a sobering thought!
Does it make sense to procrastinate to gain everybody’s approval?
No, it doesn’t.
If it’s good enough, you’ll gain the approval of sufficient people to make it worthwhile or even profitable.
And in any case, even if nobody approves (and that’s unlikely), it does not make me, or you, a lesser person.
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