Perfection: The Dream Killer

Do you call yourself a Perfectionist?

Growing up we came through an educational system that rewarded the idea of perfection and sometimes overlooked the effort put in. Sure this can have it’s plus’ where it encourages you to perfect the subject at hand. But this might bring you praise in the education system but striving for perfection in your business or dreams will be the fastest way to kill them.

Not only will it be the fastest way to kill your dreams it will also be a unfulfilling cycle, always judging your work and telling yourself it’s not good enough. This is a programming I have had to undo over the years. Yet there is a fine line to be dancing with.

What does perfection actually mean?

Or rather whose version of perfection are we even basing this on? We all have different expertise and skills in varying area’s so one persons version of perfection is another persons version of failure. It’s this concept alone that breaks down the idea of perfection. Why? Because it is an arbitrary outcome that is not able to be measured or replicated.

If we’re talking about your own version or perfection, are we talking about what your version was 5 years ago or in 10 years time? It’s always going to change as you’re always learning and growing. So can i encourage you to step back and reconsider this idea of perfection?

For if you don’t (and you’re probably already feeling this) you’ll constantly keep chasing your tail trying to fix things and not actually move forward towards accomplishing your dream!

Can you be ok with ‘good enough?’

OHHH did I just hear you cringe?

This idea of ‘good enough is good enough’ does not imply that you stop caring about the task at hand. What it does focus on is the intended outcome, what is the result you’re looking to achieve. Is the result to put out a blog a day or workout each day?

Every day our emotional, energy and physical states change. This means that we are not always going to perform at our absolute best, what we can do is our best in that given moment. Perhaps that means sometimes your workout isn’t as intense or your content is not as mind-blowing. Whilst in this concept the idea is not to do rubbish work, there is still a minimum level of quality but it’s not the idea of perfection.

When you start to focus this way and take some of the pressure off yourself that you place on yourself you may find yourself judging yourself. But I didn’t smash a new PB or the content wasn’t mind-blowing!

Sure acknowledge this situation but it’s not where your focus should be. In stead, did you achieve the outcome that you set out to achieve? If yes then that is all that matters! Keep moving forward, because the only thing that will speed up your dream becoming reality is how fast you move forward toward it! Don’t get stuck in details that aren’t THAT important.

Leave a comment: What comes up for you when you think about the ‘Good Enough’ concept?