Perfection gets in the way of success. Plain and simple.
Pursuing perfection is misleading.
Perfection exists in a flower, or in the way the light dances on the lake at sunset or in the delicate and unique shape of a snowflake. Is it possible to create that kind of perfection in the letter you are about to write?
Now, shooting for excellence in everything you do is something different.
I’m sure you know people who are perfectionists – where everything has to be totally controlled and just so. And no doubt they drive you ever so slightly nuts!
Many perfectionists actually struggle at work because they spend so much time dotting the very last i and crossing the last t that they get little else done.
Are you a perfectionist? If so, and you find yourself frustrated and bogged down with too much to do, try this exercise.
Action – Every day, consider just one thing completed that is, in your mind, only 90% perfect.
And then move on.
Actor Michael J Fox nailed it when he said “I’m careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for, perfection is God’s business.”
(How has your perfectionism, or the perfectionism of others, stopped you from moving projects forward? Leave your reply in the comments box.)