Don't let perfection become the enemy of success
Have you ever planned (or even started) started a project that never got completed because you were constantly trying to figure out how to make something work/look/feel a little better?
It’s only natural for us humans strive to produce the best product, service or experience possible when we set out to do something new, but guess what? We aren’t perfect.
Regardless of how much time you spend planning a project and tweaking it more to your liking, there will always be some small (and probably quite insignificant) aspect of it that falls a little short of perfection. And here’s a little secret: that’s fine.
Overthinking things and second-guessing every little choice rarely leads to a better outcome.
Should review your plans and update them as you gain more info and experience? Absolutely. Just don’t allow yourself to fall into the trap of letting the desire for perfection prevent you from completing the project at all (or even worse, never even starting it).
I once knew a man who had long wanted to build a deck onto the back of his house, and he eventually decided to take the plunge and build one. He drew up a rough sketch of what he wanted the deck to look like and wrote down a list of materials to buy.
When the man got to his local home improvement store he couldn’t decide which type of fasteners to use to secure the floor joists to the corner posts. He asked for recommendations from a couple of employees and they each gave him a different recommendation.
This gentleman later told me that either of the two fasteners that were recommended to him would have probably worked just fine, but he couldn’t decide which one to use. So he went home to think it over.
After all was said and done, he simply abandoned the project because his desire to build a perfect deck overcame his motivation to even begin the project.
Would one of the fasteners have worked a little better or lasted a little longer than the other one? Perhaps. But he never had the opportunity to find out (or to use the deck that he so badly wanted).
Bottom line: Perfection is something that we humans will never be able to achieve. It’s fine to strive to do your best, but when it comes time to make a decision and move on, it’s best to make it and then move on.
Like this post? If so, check out the archives for lots more.
Be sure to subscribe to receive a new post of inspiration in your email inbox every day.