5 Tips From a Recovering Perfectionist
“I haven’t figured it all out yet.”
“I need more time to get my head wrapped around that.”
These may be familiar quotes that either you have heard from someone else or that you say to yourself when you are contemplating getting started on something new. I know I have told myself that hundreds of times. I know I have something I need to work on, but I want to have it perfectly aligned in my head before I get started. Speaking from experience that rarely turns out well.
Over time I have trained myself to take different steps to move past thinking everything needs to be perfect before I start. Drafts of ideas are a good thing. Iterating on an initial concept and growing it over time almost always leads to something far better, though not always (usually not) perfect.
Perfect is the enemy of everything else
Taking the quote, ‘great is the enemy of good’ and changing that to reflect many people’s need to seek perfection carries the same message. The perfect idea, never done, is far worse than the good idea that gets implemented and then built upon. Perfectionism, in many cases, is an excuse not to do something. Sometimes you have to call bullshit on yourself or others and move to action on the good idea you already have.
Here are five ideas you can use to help you overcome your case of perfectionism. I have used all of these at some point to help me move forward.
Just get started
Start somewhere, anywhere, and get the idea on paper, in a digital notebook, on to a recording. It doesn’t matter where, just get started on it in some fashion. I cannot tell you how much this has helped me. Start with one sentence of the email you want to write. The act of breaking through the first barrier will free you to take the next step and the next. I am still amazed today how much this can help. Sometimes I start by writing a word or sentence. Other times, I open up my mind mapping software and type a single word and let ideas flow from there. It doesn’t matter what that first step is, make sure you take it and get started.
Avoid ‘until’ in your plans
Jon Acuff references this in his excellent book, ’Finish’. I cannot start on that project until I get this finished. Or, ‘Until I get that right person hired, I will have to wait to get started.’ This may be the most common form of procrastination there is, especially in our retail environment. There are always until excuses lurking in our world. This is probably the most difficult to overcome. I still fight hard against this on a regular basis. It sounds just like the excuses above. ‘Until I can get everyone together, I’ll wait to get started. What typically happens is a week, or two or three go by, and I am no further along and still feel as though I cannot get everyone together. Avoid ‘until’ and see step one above.
It doesn’t have to be 100% at the start
There is a reason people write drafts, have editors, or ask for peer reviews. Nothing is perfect at the beginning, and it likely will not be perfect when you’re done. I cannot imagine how many ideas have never been brought to fruition because someone thought it had to be one-hundred percent ready to launch. Sometimes seventy-five percent is good enough to get started and then build from there. I still see three-quarters finished as better than zero. Something is almost always better than nothing. Get comfortable with that and understand that just because it isn’t fully complete, there will always be the opportunity to improve upon it over time once it has been shared with others.
> It is better to have shared ideas and be challenged than not to have shared at all.
Stop worrying about what others might think
This is another tough one to overcome. We all care about what others might think about our ideas, thoughts, or work. However, I bet most people would think that it was silly not to do what was important to you because of what they might think. There will always be opinions on other people’s work. Take a look at the internet and anything that allows comments to be made. People have thoughts, and most of them are just that. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, that doesn’t mean they are right or have the right to share your own. It is better to have shared ideas and be challenged than not to have shared at all.
Imagine the worst-case scenario and then work backward from that
What would be the worst thing that could happen if you implemented the idea, document, or process, and it wasn’t one-hundred percent? Asking that question will usually demonstrate how small the risk is in having something be released versus not. Obviously, when safety or people’s well being are at stake, that is a different consideration. But asking the question should answer that. For most of us leading retail teams, the outcomes are not life-threatening.
Addressing perfectionism is a real challenge. While it can have some benefits in the quality of a person’s work, it can become more of a barrier when not acknowledged. We must ask ourselves, ‘is there such a thing as perfect?’ Especially when we consider how volatile and change driven the retail space is. I challenge anyone that believes holding on to ideas and new processes until they are perfect to re-think their stance and experiment with implementing something that is only partially complete. Then, see if that ultimately helps them get to a better place faster. I believe they will, and my experience has shown me that is the case.
How can you overcome the feeling of needing to be perfect before sharing your new ideas with others?
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