There's no such thing as perfect in your business
There's no such thing as perfect, especially when it comes to your business.
I just want to pause and let that sink in for a minute.
There's no such thing as perfect.
I know that that might be an uncomfortable thing for some of us to sit with, me included, but I want to dive into this today and pull it apart a little bit.
If it makes you uncomfortable to consider the fact that perfect does not exist, I understand. But stick with me, because I promise there is a point to this.
Taking perfect actions
With a lot of business owners that I talk to, and in my own experiences, I've noticed that one of the things that we really want to make perfect are our actions.
This means the things that we create in our businesses, the things that we are putting out there into the world. This is anything from services to digital products or blog posts or social media content. We want everything to be perfect.
Not only is that unrealistic, but it takes up so much time and energy.
And honestly, what the average person is looking for from you is not perfection.
They are looking for a real human being that they can connect with.
There are two things to keep in mind here: First, authenticity is better than perfection.
If you are coming across as genuinely you and showing who you really are, then you're able to create more connection. And if you are waiting for everything to be perfect, that means that you have so many things that you are never going to finish.
The other thing to keep in mind is that done is better than perfect.
Don't let the search for perfection hold you back from actually doing things and finishing things, because that is going to have such a detrimental effect on your business and that means it's also going to have a detrimental effect on your mental health and your relationship with your business.
If you struggle with perfection, then there's a good chance that you also have some self worth tied up into finishing things and what you are actually producing and creating.
Having a whole bunch of things that you are not finishing or not starting because of perfectionism is not going to make you feel very good about yourself either, is it? Focusing on taking imperfect action and putting things out there into the world, even if they are not 100% perfect, focusing on being yourself and being genuine - all of these things are going to have such a positive impact on your business.
Finding the perfect strategy
The next area where perfectionism can have a negative impact on your business is in terms of strategy.
There is so much business advice out there. So many different strategies, so many different promises. The fact is, there is no perfect strategy.
There is no one-size-fits-all, and if you are always looking for the next best thing, then you are going to be taking on too much most likely, because you're going to be trying all of these different strategies and doing all of these different things that you probably don't need to.
If you are always looking for the next best thing, it means that you are probably not putting in the full effort and attention that you need to with the things that you already have.
The reality is, you're probably never going to find that one perfect strategy that does exactly what you want it to do all of the time. That never needs any tweaks or any work. That you can just put in place and set it and forget it, and it just works like magic.
It doesn't really work like that.
Even strategies that involve putting things on autopilot or setting up automation are going to need tweaks and updates sometimes.
There are going to be strategies that work sometimes, but not all the time, or that work for a while, but then you need something new.
Business requires always learning, always trying new things, and doing new things. If you can approach your business out of curiosity, a sense of adventure, and a love of learning, rather than that search for perfection, it's going to be easier and less stressful and more enjoyable.
The perfect schedule
Another thing that I hear a lot is people searching for that perfect day or perfect schedule.
Now what this really means is your ideal day, your ideal schedule. That means if all of the planets aligned and everything worked out perfectly, what do you want your day or your ongoing schedule to look like? But in reality, things don't happen perfectly every day.
Yes, it’s important to think about the type of lifestyle and the type of schedule that you ideally want to create. But again, like with strategies, these are things that are going to evolve over time and you're going to have to roll with the punches a little bit.
One of the things that I love about being self-employed is that every day is different. If you can embrace this idea that you never have the same day twice, that there's always new things happening, again, it makes it more exciting and it makes it more fun.
Just think about that perfect, ideal schedule for a moment. If every day looked like your ideal day, would that actually be what you want? Would that mean that every day is the same? Because that doesn't sound interesting to me.
If every day is perfect and ideal, do we still have things to look forward to? Do we still have things to appreciate? I enjoy a schedule and a lifestyle that is full of variety.
So I don't have one ideal day or one ideal schedule. I like knowing that because I am self-employed, I can adapt my work to the lifestyle that I want. That's something that I'm working on.
Rather than having one ideal schedule, my ideal schedule is one that is flexible and lets me take advantage of opportunities and schedule in things to look forward to, and really just take advantage of never having the same day twice and having an interesting and exciting day to look forward to every day.
Well, OK, maybe not every day. Some days you do have to spend way too much time on Zoom. Some days you have to do your taxes. Not everything is going to be 100% enjoyable all the time, but you get what I mean.
Replacing the quest for perfection
Instead of having a constant quest for perfection, I invite you to think about what it is that you actually want. Because I have a feeling that perfection might not actually be the thing that you are looking for.
What is it that you are actually looking to experience? Is it calm? Is it peace? Is it joy? Is it fun or excitement? Is it authenticity and connection? There are so many different feelings and experiences that you could want in your business, and it is so individual.
Really think about what it is that you actually want to feel and experience on a regular basis. It's probably not perfection. It's probably something else.
This is something that you may want to sit and think about. You may want to journal about it or talk about it with a friend. Really think about what it is that you are actually searching for.
As I said at the beginning of this post, perfection doesn't really exist. But these other things - more calm, more joy, more excitement, more authenticity - these are all things that we can actually work at creating.
Once you find that thing, then you can turn more attention to that. Now you're focusing on something that's attainable, and something that is much more interesting and fun than trying to be perfect all the time.
I invite you to sit with this. If you want to talk about anything that I discussed today, please leave a comment or feel free to reach out.