Progress, Not Perfection
Most of the people I work with are perfectionists. Driven, determined, focused on getting things right and doing the absolute best they can.
And there are a lot of benefits from being a perfectionist - it often goes hand-in-hand with high-achieving, extremely talented deliverers. There’s no way a perfectionist would intentionally drop the ball, be sloppy or allow themselves to go with the flow. So often, they are sought-after and much in demand.
The downside to being a perfectionist is that often, nothing you do feels good enough or good enough for very long. You might work on something and have it be absolutely perfect only to feel a fleeting happiness before you throw it over your shoulder never to be enjoyed again because you are on to the next challenge.
The happiness and satisfaction from doing something perfectly or having something go perfectly is transient in proportion to the amount of mental energy that goes into it. And that can be a joyless way to live life. Like the donkey endlessly going around to reach the carrot dangling in front of him.
So what to do? How to be that perfectionist high-achiever AND enjoy it?
First of all, take a look at what you are calling PERFECT. Are you judging this by your standards or someone else’s? Perfect is often (like beauty) in the eye of the beholder.
Get clarity on what perfect means to you because if you don’t know, you won’t know if you’ve done it or not. You may have surpassed perfect in other people’s eyes so the question is, why isn’t it good enough for you? What standard are you holding yourself to?
Second, focus on the PROGRESS you are making rather than the PERFECTION you may or may not attain. You started at Point A and are now at Point B. What went into that journey?
Focus on the creativity, skill, learning, development, innovation, execution and the challenges overcome that were part of the journey. Don’t skip over that bit. Enjoy it, savour it!
What did you learn? What skills did you hone? What do you know now that you didn’t before? What are you celebrating? How have you grown?
I recently reposted something from The Leadership Circle which was about a 90-year-old legendary cellist who was asked why he still practiced his instrument. His reply was that he believed he was making progress.
Third, enjoy the PROCESS OF THE JOURNEY. To get from A to B something has to happen. And rather than just focusing on the perfect ending, be mindful about the journey and what you are experiencing along the way.
I bumped into a yogi friend, Mark, who reminded me, ‘It’s Yoga PRACTICE not yoga PERFECT’. The joy and learning is in practising it, there is no such thing as perfect in yoga. The perfection IS the practice.
So, perfectionists out there, ask yourselves:
How do I define perfect?
How do I enjoy perfection?
What progress have I made?
How do I enjoy the journey in my pursuit of perfection?
Okay, enjoy, live life as positively as you can.
Use your energy in the right way. And don’t worry, you’ll still be a super-high achiever!
As always, Be Fearlessly You!
Tracy
