I’ve found that one of the biggest challenges for myself as an entrepreneur and creator is the desire to get things right. I know that it sounds a little backwards, but I’ve found that one of the best ways to not make forward progress is to worry about making sure your progress is the best it can be.
Perfection Gets You Stuck
Getting stuck because of this focus on perfection manifests in different ways for different people. For some it’s analysis paralysis, where they keep accumulating more and more data instead of acting. For some it’s constant revision and changes on their projects which prevent them from being released into the world. Still others need to have an external source say it’s OK before they can move ahead. For me it often visits as a voice in the back of my mind saying, “Are you sure this is a best idea? Can’t you do better?”
I’d been sitting in front of the computer screen for way too long as I tried to write this post. Lately I’ve been struggling with infusing my writing with more of my own voice, especially because I have a new site (thanks for visiting) which I want to be awesome.
I’ve got a lot of great ideas for articles on how to network better and how to be a better entrepreneur and be a general RockStar. But I was wrestling with what I should actually write right now. Should I make it a poignant tale of a failure or a success? Would an authoritative list be good? Should I write a pithy article connecting entrepreneurship and the latest Xbox game I’ve been playing?
“Done” is Better Than “Perfect”
And those questions kept coming up in my mind. I wanted to make sure I had the right answer and so I wasn’t doing anything.
But here’s what popped back into my head. The right answer is … whatever one I come up with. We can’t know what the perfect way forward is, and trying to prophesize never works anyway. When in doubt, the best thing to do is something. Even if it’s just writing a post about how it can be hard to decide what post to write.
I’m reminded of something that I said to a client once:
I don’t come up with many pearls of wisdom, but I like that one. A good reminder to myself to continue to move forward.
What is your need for getting it right keeping you from? Stop it from gumming up the works – go do something, anything, to move in the direction you want.