What is perfectionism
Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to do your best. Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimise or avoid the pain of blame, judgement, and shame. Itâs a shield. Itâs a 20 tonne shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, itâs the thing thatâs really preventing us from flight.
Brené Brown
I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping stone just right, you wonât have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who arenât event looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while theyâre doing it.
Anne Lammot
Perfectionism is not the way, itâs in the way.
How I identify perfectionism
Before the task
- The fear of âtainting a pageâ - tainting a perfect idea with imperfect executions
- Lead to procrastination
During the task
- Abandon a project due to desire to be perfect
- Nature of unfinished tasks - they look ugly!
After the task
- When evaluating the project, you can only see the flaws
The 70% Rule
Aim for 70%, not 100%
- Make it to at least 70% perfect!
- Repetition and reward
- Whenever you find yourself beating yourself up for something not being perfect, interrupt the thought and ask, âwas it better than 70%?â
Why it works
- Lowers the barrier to entry
- Can I do the single greatest workout of all time? đ
- Could I go just slightly above mild at the gym today? đ
- The law of diminishing returns
- Quantity leads to Quality (due to increasing potentials)
- Helps you finish
- Your body of work is only as good as the projects you finish
- Reinforces the truth
- You are not defined by what you can accomplish or produce
- The more that you do make stuff at 70%, the more you realise that the world doesnât hate you for making something imperfect