An illusion is something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality. Illusions are sneaky things. It makes you think it’s there but disappears into thin air once you reach to touch it. Such a tease!
I remember when I had learnt about illusions in science class and when I saw a mirage- a form of optical illusion, for the first time.
I was talking about perfectionism with a friend recently and how it really is an illusion. She wasn’t quite on the same page as me. In her opinion, it was about her trying to put out her most excellent work.
I’m a recovering perfectionist so I think I might be qualified to argue the fact that perfectionism is in fact an illusion. (Any debaters here?) I have been able to get soooooo more done since I hung up my perfectionism boots.
When we insist on making things perfect it’s under the assumption that there is a universal stamp for perfect. A state where whatever it is you are working on gets to that the whole world will universally and unanimously say “yes this is now perfect”
This never or rarely happens (my beloved apple products still has haters) and because whatever we are working on is for others (unless it’s a pet project for your eyes only, I will talk about that too) to interact with or use, we are therefore trying to make it “perfect” for them. And if we are trying to make it perfect for people that can’t universally say it’s perfect then what’s the point?
We all have different expectations. Something that is “perfect” for one person may be subpar for another.
Ok, let’s say that you are doing it for your peace of mind or your own high standard (insert ego here) or it’s a pet project. You just have a level that it needs to get to before it’s done. This will also be under the assumption that your knowledge is static. That all you know now is all there is to know with regards to that matter.
The truth is, the second you open a magazine, go on social media, speak to a friend or colleague, you get more insight, more data points, more inspiration that you could use to further improve your “baby”. This means its “perfect” state is never reached. It’s like that goal post that keeps shifting. Like that guy or girl that keeps giving you signals but keeps you in friends zone lol.
Continue like this and that project never sees the light of day.
This is really fear of being judged masquerading as perfectionism. A sly form of procrastination.
Each time I write this newsletter there are so many things I want to add and say. Each time I hit publish a thousand and one things I could have written start taunting me. But the promise I made was to show up - as God continues to help me, every Thursday. I’m solving for consistency.
Because I know that I need to show up every Thursday, I make that the priority. Then I try to make sure I’m doing a decent job, not a perfect job. I know that I can always write part 2 of an article. I can always improve on it in a later post if needed. That gives me the liberty to just “ship”.
Knowing that everything is WIP - work in progress, means that we should adopt a scientist’s mindset and not hold on too tightly to our ideas without executing them because we want to make them perfect. We think if we let the world see something that isn’t, we will be making a fool of ourselves. The ego is indeed the enemy here. But you can’t really learn anything or even know if your “perfect is perfect” till you let these ideas out into the world for people to interact with them.
Adam Grant proposes that thinking like a scientist might be the “cure” for perfectionism. He says we should value humility over pride and curiosity (my favourite trait in the world) over conviction. You shouldn’t let your ideas become your identity. When you have an idea, treat it like a hunch, go out and figure out how you can run an experiment to test it.
Scientists already know from the start that their initial idea might fail, they are not overly attached to it or feel they have failed if the Petri dish isn’t filled with culture by the next morning. Some of their discoveries are even accidental like how penicillin was discovered. All they do is put in the variables and watch, adjust stuff when needed. They are extremely curious by nature.
Our ego/ pride and our preconceived notions of what or how our work should be like is what gets in our way.
Don’t focus on proving yourself but improving yourself which comes with detaching yourself from your ideas, bringing them to life and with the mindset of a learner, be open to tweaking any mistakes says Adam Grant.
The best and most successful startups focus on “bias to action”. This is what the lean startup movement and design thinking are based on. Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, the founders of the tech unicorn (in business, a unicorn is a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion) Airbnb, said looking back to their first website they aren’t so proud now but they were focused on action, not perfection. If they were waiting for perfection Airbnb might still be lying in ideas grave.
I’m speaking to myself here too, I have a project that I have been wanting to bring to life for about 6years now. I’m making a public commitment to get it going. Can you guys hold me accountable?
I would really like to hear about any ideas you have been “sitting” on and waiting for the “perfect” time. If you would like help with a roadmap on how to jump-start it, let me know and we can walk through it.
Keep going guys,
Ije.
I can relate with the perfectionist thing.... wanting to fix & do all by yourself but going that way can break you; we must learn to delegate.... Excellence is what we should pursue though. And on that your project Ije; JUST DO IT !!! Start with what you have & esp.@the right time. Keep it going ...... 😃
Truly a word in time! I have my thesis to convert into a book and my perfectionist streak wont let me publish.. and i keep saying i can make it better and end up not touching it.