Which Would You Rather Have – Perfection or Success?
Too many people see perfectionism as a badge of honour but it wastes time, causes overwhelm and stands in the way of success. Doing a good job isn’t the same as seeking perfection. Tasks have to be done to an appropriate level but that level is well below the level of perfection.
The problems with perfection:
1|Perfection isn’t possible and it wastes time. Nothing has ever been perfect in the literal sense of the world. Leonardo Da Vinci said “Art is never finished only abandoned” Think about how you can “abandon” tasks once they are an acceptable level and you will save yourself a whole lot of time and effort.
2| You get less done. When you try to be perfect, you cut yourself short of enough time to get everything done. Your boss needs a report, she doesn’t need perfection and it takes longer to get everything else on your to-do list done. That client probably won’t even appreciate the extra work you put in to get something close to perfect. You can’t get all of the work done and have time for yourself and your family if you’re focused on perfection
3|Perfection is unhealthy. Perfectionists are more prone to heart disease, anxiety, and mental health issues. The quest for perfection causes stress and stress is damaging to the body and mind.
4|You can’t work well with others if you need to be perfect. People have little patience for perfectionists. Everyone else wants to get things done and get on with their lives and you will accomplish much more with the help of others.
5| Perfection leads to unreasonable expectations. You lead by example so if you always need things to be perfect you are teaching your kids that things need to be perfect too which is setting them up for feeling like they aren’t good enough or for a life of overwhelm.
Perfectionism requires a huge amount of time and effort which gets in the way of a happy, successful life. Ask yourself why you feel the need to do things perfectly. Perform tasks to a level that results in success. Going beyond that point is unnecessary and results in overwhelm.
Next time you are doing a task that you have a tendency to try to do perfectly set yourself a time limit to get it done by.
Let me know what your biggest challenge is around perfectionism or feeling overwhelmed. Leave a comment below or you can connect with me on Instagram or Linkedin
