You Are Not a Perfectionist
I’m not sure where our obsession with perfection started but I’m over it.
Striving for perfection is exhausting. I’m tired of trying to have the perfect beard, the perfectly shaved head, the perfect outfit, the perfect spelling and grammar, the perfect relationship, the perfect idea, the perfect product, the perfect idea, the perfect business, launch strategy, pr strategy, corporate culture and on and on and fucking on with the perfection.
It’s exhausting.
I’m exhausted.
I am also to blame.
I tell myself that this article isn’t perfect… yet. My self-talk leans towards perfection all the time and I quietly berate myself if I am not pushing for perfection constantly.
It’s exhausting.
Did I mention how exhausted I am from striving for perfection? No? Well, I’m exhausted and I am sure you are too.
So let’s get over it.
Perfection is perlillous. It’s time for us to reframe our self-talk.
I hate hearing someone tell me that they are a perfectionist because my inner voice pushes back immediately with: “No you’re not.”
You are not a perfectionist and nor am I. If you are triggered reading that sentence, good. Get over your self-righteous self. Perfect sucks. Perfect means it’s over and there is nothing left to do and that’s boring. If you were a perfectionist you wouldn’t be able to leave the house because your clothes will never be perfectly aligned all the time. Your car will never be perfectly clean all the time. Your hair will never stay perfectly styled throughout the day. Your skin won’t remain blemish-free and perfect. Your approach to life is incomplete and imperfect but that’s where beauty lives.
We use the idea of perfection as an excuse to avoid hard things. You think you have the best business idea but you don’t want to talk about it because it’s not perfect yet. You have the perfect video to push out to your community but you’re not ready to publish because it’s just not perfect yet. You want to release a podcast but you haven’t found the perfect guest to kick things off.
I have been coaching a lot of business owners and founders recently and this is one of the most infuriating excuses I come across from all kinds of talented people. Perfection is a roadblock we erect so that we can delay the potentially harmful public humiliation we are scared of.
And therein lies the flywheel of perfect destruction:
→ Have an idea
→ Work on said idea for a little bit and make some progress
→ Sink enough time into the idea that you are protective of it
→ Obsess over the nuances of said idea
→ Refine, refine, refine, refine
→ Delay launch and build up anticipation in your mind
→ Wait longer, refine more, create overwhelming anticipation
→ Never launch
And so the cycle perpetuates because we are more obsessed with perfection than we are with feedback.
Replace your desire for perfection with a ruthless desire for constructive feedback and you will never delay launching something again.
The idea of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) was pioneered by Erik Ries in his book, The Lean Startup. The lean startup methodology and an MVP promotes the concept of launching. Launch your idea, product, service, thought, video, article or anything into the world quickly and iterate. Don’t spend years building something that nobody will want.
The key concept here that I think has been overlooked over the years is that of data. You launch a minimum viable product so that you can receive constructive data from your customers and users. You are then able to use the data to gather insights about the product or idea they are testing for you so that you can iterate and create a better version of the idea, or, a more perfect version if you will.
Your self-assigned label as a “perfectionist” is killing your soul, destroying your ideas and making you unbearable to be around.
YOU. ARE. NOT. A. PERFECTIONIST.
How do you expect to iterate if you are too afraid to launch?
How can you refine something that has never been used or tested out in the wild? Whether it’s an idea, a thought, an opinion, an outfit, a product, a service or anything else you can only test it and refine it if you launch it.
Stop holding yourself back, stop calling yourself a perfectionist and just launch already.
Over the past 20 years as a founder and founder coach I have encountered five major roadblocks holding most people back from building their business.
I want to help you get over yourself and overcome these five roadblocks so I have created a FREE workbook and five-day email accountability course. Download the workbook and let’s build your imperfect idea!
