PPI #97: Procrastination & the "Perfectionist"

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When someone says that they're a perfectionist, what they're really saying is that they are dominated by fear. They think perfectionism is somehow a good thing, but it actually just means they're afraid.

The other thing that they're afraid of is, they're afraid of failing. They're afraid that, "If I put my work out there and if it's not perfect, then I'm going to fail.

The act of completing something quicker is actually the best way to perfect it. By getting something out the door and in an imperfect state, you can get feedback on that and you can learn how to improve it.

The 80-20 Rule simply states that 20% of the effort will yield 80% of the results. Now what does a perfectionist try to do? They try to put in a hundred percent effort to get a hundred percent of the result.

By focusing on, "What's the 20% of effort that I could put in that would still yield 80% of the result," it's a perfect way to train yourself out of your perfectionism.

Things don't need to be perfect, they need to be good enough. And often what you think is the necessary standard for good enough, is nowhere near what someone actually needs. They need far less than what you're thinking.

Another super powerful technique or tool that you can use to overcome perfectionism, is a simple phrase that I use all the time. And it's just, "I choose to start for just five minutes." It helps you take action.

Starting takes just a moment, whereas finishing takes an indefinite amount of time.