Pet Peeve: Perfectionism

Good Morning (or night or afternoon, wherever you are, whenever you read this)! This post / email is for those who want something fun to read. Hope you stick until the end!

Perfectionism plagues many people, including myself. It's also one of my many peeves.

I believe that perfectionism is a hassle and, consequently, results in a huge waste of time. There is no such thing as perfect, and there are many ways someone can improve their work. Perfectionism only affects the person who works on the work, and people looking in from the outside would never know that something seemed imperfect for the person working on the work.

This does not apply to everyone. If you’re, say, an accountant, perfection is something to strive for. There are many other jobs in the world that require near perfection (i.e. construction and architecture, doctors and those in the medical field), and would be fatal if not. However, things like this newsletter and art pieces are not a life or death situation, and imperfections are bound to happen. And no one will be affected. It will most likely go unnoticed by others.

Unfortunately, I am also a perfectionist…the majority of the time. This newsletter will never be perfect, and there is always room for improvement (annoys me at times). There’s a difference between pursuing perfection and accepting imperfection. Pursuing perfection is a waste of time, and no person pursuing perfectionism in art has become great by, well, pursuing perfection. Instead, the ones that can shrug off the impulse of pursuing perfection and accept that, maybe their work is not perfect and perhaps will never be, will be the ones that rise to great heights. Accepting imperfection is acknowledging that there is room for improvement, and pursuing, not perfection, but improvement.

Those that accept imperfection, despite being a perfectionist, will grow faster than those that pursue perfection, and (on the other end of the spectrum) those that believe that their work is perfect when, in fact, there is room for improvement. Realize what you could’ve done, reflect, and the next time you start something new (in which the skills applies), apply what you’ve reflected (and hopefully learned) to your work. Those that do not reflect will repeat the mistake over and over again.

Now, I am no expert, and I certainly am an offender of this, however, those that can execute this will most definitely grow faster than those who don’t. If we apply perfectionism to the Pareto Principle (80% for 20% of the time or vice versa), it is logical to think that it will take a long time to achieve that 20% left to perfection. Therefore, you’re better off starting another project, and achieving 80% in that, and is more effective too. You’ll get better at your craft (quantity over quality, feedback loops) as you ‘complete’ more of your projects. They may not be perfect, but they will be better than those that do not reflect and those who strive for perfection.

Perfectionism is a hassle and I am very annoyed when the impulse takes control over me, and someway, somehow, all my day is spent doing one useless task. However, perfectionism can also be helpful in determining how and what you can improve the next time you pursue a project.

If you, like me, suffer from perfectionism, try to resist the impulse to pursue perfectionism. Instead, take a step back and reflect what you believe could be improved, but takes too much time to do. Then come up with a solution for that (i.e. in cleaning, if something is too stubborn to clean, perhaps clean that place every day, and eventually, it will be as clean as you want it).

I hope this helped anyone struggling with perfectionism, and everyone else who think their work is perfect (I’m sorry, but there is always something that can be improved for more efficiency, for more effectiveness, etc.) I realize this isn’t the usual content I write about, but I have been really annoyed at my perfectionism, and I’ve been consuming content on the topic here and there. I hope I can execute reflection and not strive for perfection as well 😅. If not, I’ll be one of those people that don’t do whatever they say to do 🫠.

I hope this made sense, by the way. Feel free to send me any questions you might have, and I’ll try to answer to the best of my abilities 😄.

A good video on perfectionism, explained better than I did for those that want more tips on how to get over perfectionism: https://youtu.be/SxA69uUGEUI

Thanks for sticking this long, and I hope you have a great week! 😁 

I want some feedback: Do you like these topics? Anything else you want to send me is much appreciated. Thanks for reading, and I hope it was worth your while 😄 Please tell me something about a peeve you might have (if you want), and remember, you’re awesome! If you want, sign up to my weekly newsletter (if you haven’t already). Link down below! Email: [email protected]