Focusing on better also allows us to open ourselves to gaining new insights from learning how others use/apply our offerings so we can build on what we know instead of simply relying on past accomplishments.

Thanks Loc for sharing your example. It really helps to reinforce why going for better beats aiming for perfection.

Now, after creating a rough draft, I would show my work to my client, if she approves I would continue. This saves a lot of time. Besides, there’s no such thing as perfection. There’s always flaws in everything or things that needs some improvement on.

Of course, as you pointed out, the benefit of making mistakes comes only if we’re willing to review what went wrong and adjust our approach accordingly as we resume moving ahead.

Some great points, Xurxo. Thanks for bringing them to the discussion.

I’m definitely going with the more productive approach of aiming to be better in smaller steps. Perfection is an all or bust concept that can be very counterproductive in that it is also very subjective like you pointed out.

In addition, running after perfection too often leads to analysis paralysis and hardly anything gets done.

As a very successful friend of mine used to tell me, just do it, get your project going even if you make tons of mistakes along the way. Just make sure to keep making improvements and learning from your experiences. Success doesn’t come from having the perfect idea – it comes from taking action, testing and adapting.

It’s remarkable how the pursuit of perfection can lead to not only an inability to complete anything, but also to fostering disappointments that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Makes you wonder why we’re not taught sooner the perils of seeking perfection to both our productivity and overall sense of wellness.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with this, Gwyn.

Perfection is one of those odd concepts in that while everyone understands what it means, how we’d describe it would vary from person to person. And as you point out, it’s difficult to be motivated to pursue a goal if despite your best efforts, it remains firmly out of reach.

By aiming for better, though, we give ourselves a realistic goal that we can not only succeed at attaining, but which by definition would mean we’ve exceeded past our earlier accomplishment. Both of which make for strong motivators for not only pursuing the task, but also seeing it through to fruition.

Thanks again for the great comment, Sonia, and for sharing your insights on this discussion.

First let me say that as a recovering perfectionist I know what it is to attempt the achievement of that perfect thing, moment, day, project, job etc. only to be disappointed with the result.

Being a little wiser now I have learned that chasing perfection is a fool's errand simply because, as you have so eloquently pointed out, perfection is subject to widespread interpretation.

Nowadays being and/or doing BETTER seems like the more sensible pursuit. And, I don't have to beat myself up quite so much

Thanks too for an enlightening post!

Gwyn

I remember when Lou Gerstner took over IBM–when they were exceedingly slow to respond to changes in the marketplace. In referring to their R&D lab, he said that products didn’t get released, they had to “escape.”

In other words, striving for perfection caused them to miss the right timing for release in the market.

I believe in creating and delivering great products and services. I believe in delivering extreme value. And I believe that perfect is the enemy of done.

Great food for thought. When it comes to feedback, I choose focusing on what can "make it better", "make me better", "make him/her better". As you mention perfection is subjective and impossible to achieve to make everyone happy.

Ava's comment that "perfect is the enemy of done" is wonderful. People often sell themselves short and never even start something because of the fear of not achieving perfection. Perfection = paralysis!

When getting ready to receive feedback, your post offers great advice. Nothing you do can ever be perfect, so get ready to receive feedback that will help you "get better"! With this mindset the perfection paralysis is lifted and you are in the perfect frame of mind to accept any and all feedback that comes your way!

The same is true when offering feedback. The words you choose can affect how the feedback is received. Again your post offers great insight!

What sounds better:

A. Can I offer negative feedback?

B. Can I offer constructive feedback?

C. Can I offer feedback that can make it better/you better?

I choose C!

Great post… looking forward to more…

Sonia