Overcoming Perfectionism
Overcoming Perfectionism
The problem with perfectionism is…
The problem with trying to achieve perfectionism is…
The problem with perfection is…
The problem isn
The problem isn’t actually with perfectionism. It’s not what makes us do well. It’s the effort we put in that drives us. Although some could see these as just having high standards, perfectionism ends up being a terrible driver to reach these unrealistically high standards.
We go down the same path until we get it just right.
We give up after the first setback.
And sometimes it keeps us from even starting because the environment around us isn’t perfect. Or we don’t have the perfect set of tools. Or so we think.
We tinker, fiddle, modify, delete and sometimes blow the whole thing up and start over. We stay up till two in the morning making sure something is just right, only to wake up the next morning to change it yet again.
Eventually we do finish. Yet, we don't realize all the extra effort we put in comes at a cost. All the places we needed to go and ten other things on our to-do list we couldn't do.
Not Good Enough vs. Who Do You Think You Are
In order to overcome perfectionism, we have to understand where it comes from and why. Once we understand it, we can start giving our perfectionism a better direction by changing the marker for success. Otherwise, the marker will remain in the same spot with a familiar outcome. Rejection.
We avoid putting ourselves and our work out for the world to see so nobody sees our mistakes and rejects it. This reluctance quickly morphs into fear. The fear of ‘I’m not… enough.’ Not creative enough. Not smart enough. Not good enough.
Slow Down
Avoiding rejection is natural for most. So of course we want our path to overcoming perfectionism to be, well, perfect. Avoiding any and all rejection. This mindset keeps us from even starting, though. So rather than thinking we can conquer our perfectionism by pulling an all nighter or think we'll discover some secret method from a podcast episode, we need to slow down. We have to tackle our perfectionism one thing at a time. Otherwise, we’re just setting ourselves up for more failure and rejection.
SOS
Having the right mindset is just the beginning. As much as we like to think we can do it all ourselves, because let’s be honest, nobody can do it as well as we can, right? Wrong. We can't do it all ourselves, nor should we. It's ok to ask for help. Bringing other people in doesn’t mean you’re incapable. Nobody’s accomplished anything of value alone.
Comparing
The evil step-child of rejection is comparison. As designers, we compare our work to someone who has more than a decade of experience. We see it as a standard. A bar we want to reach and could reach if we just put in three more hours. But we all know those three hours turn into ten.
Rather than comparing yourself to someone, learn from them if you can. You’ll be surprised how willing they are to teach. And if they say no, keep searching till you find someone who will.
Accepting Done is better than perfect.
We often equate acceptance to compromise, so we (obviously) can’t compromise (accept) our (ridiculously high) standards until they're perfect. AKA, never done. These standards come from the fear of not being good enough or imperfect. This then leads us to avoid situations entirely, deadlines and criticism. Because being seen as imperfect is scary and being seen as perfect should feel awesome. The problem with this is, if everything is perfect, nothing happens.
The reality is, avoiding situations in which we might appear imperfect is a battle we'll never win. Real acceptance doesn’t come from being above criticism. It comes from putting yourself and your work out there and realizing, you are enough. But if you wait for everything to be perfect just to start, you'll never begin.
