Do You Know a Never Good Enough Person?
Are you the person or do you know of a person where good is never good enough? I am talking about that person where every last detail must be in place or the person who must know everything before doing anything. That type of person has a name. We call that person a perfectionist.
I know of such a person. That person is me. Well that used to be me. Ok, it kind of still is me. But whew, I am worlds away from what I used to be.
Advice from a Recovering Perfectionist
Here at can. will. DONE I talk about limiting mindsets. Being a perfectionist, I realized, was limiting me. As referenced above, if nothing is ever good enough not much gets accomplished. There is always over-thinking, gathering more information than necessary – analysis paralysis, wondering what people will think, focusing on nonessentials -the silly not all that important or it can wait type of stuff. I've just exhausted myself thinking about all the nonsense. Since I no longer wanted to limit myself and I hope you desire the same, I will give you the best advice I can give.
Be happy with good enough and feel good about it: At the beginning of this year I put the good enough process into action. In those moments when I feel myself spending way too much time on what does not truly matter, I step back, stop going in that direction, note it as something to possibly come back to later, then I focus on what matters.
Give yourself deadlines: Another practice that I have put into place is to give myself deadlines. I do not allow myself too much time. That allows me to focus on what matters and to reel myself back in when I begin with old habits – procrastination, over-thinking, etc.
Be fine with evolving: Practicing evolution has been a life saver. I begin with a framework that is good enough to begin. That means if you are creating something that someone needs to use, make sure it is, at a minimum, functioning. There is a big difference between who cares? and good enough. As I learn and practice more, and receive feedback, I make changes and enhancements. Watching something you create mature over time is a wonderful feeling.
As a result of being happy with good enough, instituting deadlines, and being satisfied with evolution, I have become a recovering perfectionist. I get a lot more done, faster. More importantly, I feel really good about myself. Let these guidelines do the same for you.
Why Good Enough is Great!
As a way of showing that I practice what I preach, I introduce to you pamelaburke.com. Just under 70 days ago from October 1, 2015 I set a deadline to have up my speaking website, pamelaburke.com. By my old standards, pamelaburke.com is nowhere near ready. I could give you list of what the perfectionist in me sees as flaws, but that is a lot to type. Instead, I will allow the site to evolve, improving over time.
I will admit, at times I had complete mental breakdowns and the perfectionist tried to rear her ugly head. I suspect that will always happen. Once a perfectionist, always a perfectionist. The difference between the old perfectionist and the recovering one is I now have the right mindset to stay out of my own way. That is why I am proud to say, pamelaburke.com is good enough and good enough is GREAT!
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