How To Overcome Perfectionism

How To Overcome Perfectionism

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Introduction

I'm a recovering perfectionist, so I could go on for pages about this one.

The top reason is, because you will struggle to get anything done. Worst case it can lead to procrastination which is the #1 result-killer and to be avoided at all costs.

When I was in the corporate grinder I was proud of how good my work was. I was proud that I was getting it done at a very high level. My colleagues came to me when they needed something done "properly". There were some ongoing jokes about me being detail-oriented. Not that I cared. It never dawned on me why my managers weren't enthusiastic about me. Until I started working for myself, which forced me to become a producer. With the same mindset, I was getting some good work done. Some, but not much. It was not long before I realized that there needs to be a certain number of articles, blog posts, videos, and so on, before quality comes into play. What I found shocked me: it turns out quality can be substituted with quantity to a large degree, but not the other way around.

In other words, Quality alone will not get you results.

I started waging a war inside on perfectionism. Going against how I was raised, and how much of my current environment thinks. I am in Japan, after all, where there is a rule for everything and stuff has to be "just so".

I am winning so far, and my results back me up.

I found a good way to check if you are over-doing things

I'd simply ask yourself: "Is my current activity adding further value to this product/job?" "Is this going to make the end result noticeably better?" Let me take this example from the online marketing world. You may write an article in 30 minutes or 3 hours; either way the reader will only spend about 2 minutes on it (average). But if you write 2 articles or posts in the same timeframe, you get the reader's attention for 4 minutes. Plus you expose him to your profile and links twice. Twice the chance to get an opt-in. Which do you think will make you more successful?

That is not to say that you don't need to pay attention.

If you don't pay attention you pay with pain. Again, marketing world example. An incongruent sales funnel will produce no result. Plus there is more than enough crap on the internet already. At the same time there is no point in editing an article 15 times and thinking too much about where to place a comma. Aim for balance. There is one, and I find it is closer to the get-it-done-ASAP than get-it-perfect-every-time side.

My New Perspective

I felt liberated once I understood that quality does not equal results. Things started to happen faster. Results started to come.

I started loving "Good Enough" instead of "Perfect". "Good enough" HAS BECOME my new "Perfect".

Perfect action takes time, and momentum is lost. The beauty of imperfect action is that it keeps things moving. It frees up time. You get more done so it reduces stress. That is why I urge you to become a recovering perfectionist.

Call to Action

I challenge you to embrace taking imperfect action. I promise you won't regret it.

About the Author:
If you want to know how massive imperfect action can get you life-changing results in my business, put your email in at Sandor Benko's Leadership Blog at http://MeetSandorAndMisato.com and you will receive further instructions in email (along with access to free my free Ebook and Marketing Trainings).



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