Aim for perfectly good
Growing up with high expectations from my family and struggling with confidence issues for years, I’ve always had a complicated relationship with perfection.
On one hand, I have learned to embrace it. I attribute my successes to my attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and following through.
It has also been costly. I’ve lost sleep obsessing over presentation designs, missed out on opportunities because of my inability to make quicker decisions and wasted years at companies because I couldn’t find the absolute perfect next job.
Whenever I feel stuck on something and reflect on why, it’s almost always because I’m letting perfection take over.
Here are a few ways that I have learned to maintain a healthier relationship with perfection that might be helpful to you:
Set achievable goals. Having smaller, actionable goals that are easily achievable will boost your confidence and create momentum towards a larger, more perfect goal.
Know that perfection is subjective. How you define it is not how someone else would. Aim for good and get it out the door so that you can see progress and get feedback quickly.
Don’t overthink. There’s not a perfect way to do anything but there are a lot of really good ways. Make a decision, be confident with it and move on.
Lose the ego. We fear disapproval or judgment by others because we let our ego get in the way. Getting your work checked midway or asking questions could save you from mistakes.
Stop comparing yourself to others. The only person you should compare yourself to is your past self. Progressing is more powerful than perfecting.
Easier said than done. However, if you aim for good instead of perfection, you’ll be more decisive, get more done and feel more confident. Plus, it’ll still be perfectly good.
