Don’t Let Perfectionism Stop You

Done is better than perfect…

I’m a perfectionist, and I’m not proud of that.

Perhaps you’ve used perfectionism as the ideal “flaw” when asked about it in job interviews. I know I have done so.

Contrary to popular belief, though, perfectionism isn’t a quality in disguise — it is a flaw, and a serious one.

The stagnation effect

First, let’s be clear: trying to be perfect is not the same as trying to be as good as possible. The problem arises when trying to be perfect stops you from taking concrete action.

This is the stagnation effect. It’s a problem that often troubles perfectionists. I’ll use writing as an example.

You have an idea for a topic you want to talk about. You do your research; you write your piece. And, of course, you want your article to be as good as possible.

Nothing wrong there. If you’re able to correctly assess what is “good enough”. As a perfectionist, you might have trouble deciding when you’re finished.

At first, you’ll follow the normal editing process — idea flow, grammar, typos, and fact-checking. And your piece will get better and benefit from it.

However, when trying to be perfect, you might find yourself rewriting the same sentence several times... Going back and forth between revisions. Double thinking if you have everything that could be included in your article.

That’s when you’ve hit the stagnation phase. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing nothing, and it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no improvement happening.

If you have a good enough article, but don’t move forward: you’re experiencing the stagnation effect. There are no concrete improvements being made, but you’re still pursuing that elusive perfection.

Done is better than perfect

I often struggle with my articles… Because they’re not perfect.

But let’s be honest: perfection is an illusion. Even if I’m not able to make a story better, there’s certainly someone out there who could improve my work.

So although I always strive to improve, I’m trying not to let this unattainable pursuit of perfection stop me from taking action. Once I’m happy enough that my article gets my point across, I hit that publish button!

So write that article!

Publish it, even if it isn’t perfect. If there are things you can fix, go and fix them. But don’t stare at your blinking cursor for hours or keep your drafts in a drawer (even if it’s a virtual one) for years because you’re afraid they aren’t perfect.

The truth is: they probably aren’t. Neither are mine. But they’re also probably good enough, and you should share them with the world. And the more you practice, the better you get.

So let good enough be good enough. You can work on improvements along the way, and experience will also help you grow. But don’t freeze. Don’t stop because your writing isn’t perfect.

And I will do the same.

So, let’s strive to be better. But in this pursuit, let’s not allow perfection to stop us!