Perfection often gets in the way of action. We have all had those moments when we sit down to start a project, at work or at home, and instead of getting on with it we quickly get stuck.... the blank piece of paper, the wardrobe we need to sort out, the kitchen cupboards that could do with tidying up, again.... The challenge is that perfection is always running ahead of you - what was a good job today, may not look like it tomorrow in retrospect. Academic papers I wrote nearly twenty-five years ago were of their time, when we had less knowledge, less understanding. Today I write from a different perspective, have honed my craft more and learned so much more, but that does not weaken the value of those early papers within their time and place and as a marker of where thinking was, what thinking emerged on the journey to today.
So perfection is a moving target, we can lack confidence which leaves us perpetually in the 'delay loop.' In the delay loop, our minds and our bodies are held back by fear - fear of failure, fear of being judged, fear of having to deliver if we are successful and are then thrust into the spotlight. We are held back for hours, days, weeks, months because it, whatever it is, isn't perfect yet.. we keep refining, reflecting, planning, editing rather than sharing our thoughts, staring the job or launching the new product.
What does this mean for us? To grow we need feedback, to move forward we have to embrace the two steps forward and one step back process of progression to our goals, to seize opportunities we must overcome uncertainty. We are all a draft version of ourselves that we will revise as the years go by, and so is the work that we produce. No-one and no activity is ever truly flawless or perfect, we will learn from our endeavours and benefit when we share.
So take action, send your work out into the world, call it done and start something new and exciting.
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