Perfection is a myth. It’s a lie we “perfectionists” tell ourselves to keep us from producing. We wait for circumstances to be just perfect to launch that new business, change jobs, release a blog article, release a new product, deliver that pitch, pick up the phone and prospect.
But (and we all know this), perfection never comes. Things are never perfect – or they are always perfect. It depends on your spiritual viewpoint.
I favour them both. Things are never perfect and always perfect. But what’s better than being perfect?
It’s progress.
Yes. Strive for ‘Progress not Perfection’.
Real happiness comes from the feeling that we are progressing in whatever it is we are doing.
We see this all around us yet we forget.
When you go to amazon.com and buy a product and browse their website, did it look like that in 1994 when it was founded? It’s taken 21 years to reach the point it’s at now.
If they’d waited for ‘perfection’ to launch, they never would have.
Reid Hoffman – the founder of LinkedIn – says that:
“if you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you launched too late!”
He has a point.
I used to have this perfection paralysis. I waited two years since wanted to film videos online before actually doing it. I wanted the lights, camera, content – everything to be perfect.
And then, in the words of Richard Branson, I just said “Screw it! Let’s do it!”
Am I embarrassed by my first videos? Yes. And no. Not really. I have all them up there on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/thethoughtgym) because I want other people to see them. Where I started. I’ve gotten much better, but is it perfect now? Of course not.
So, my question to you is, what have you been sitting on that you want to release and haven’t. Is it a pitch, a product, a report.
It’s not going to be perfect. We don’t have that luxury, but we do have the luxury of progress. The more we do something, the better we get.
Remember that it’s about
Progress, not Perfection.
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
