Happy Tuesday Friends! Today I have another special post for you; I would like to introduce you to the incredibly talented Sandra Leon AKA "Mom Boss".
Sandra is a writer and entrepreneur who just released her book, Online Business Success: 6 Fundamentals of Making Money Online Doing What You Love which I've read and loved.
This is not your typical business book, this is an informative, inspiring and resourceful book that I highly recommend. With that said, Sandra has a little advice on how to beat those perfectionistic tendencies that creep up and prevent us from reaching our goals. So without further ado, onto to Sandra's post.
“Perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat, pretending to be elegant when, actually, it's just terrified.”
Elizabeth Gilbert
I always took pride in being a perfectionist. In school, I was always the one putting the most effort into my homework. At all my jobs, I always aimed to do my job perfectly, which helped me earn top positions.
Being a perfectionist is actually a good quality to have. It’s not bad in and of itself. It makes you work hard to produce high quality work that makes you shine and stand out. However, you have to be careful not to let your perfection tendency turn into a perfectionism disorder.
I realized my need to be perfect had become a problem when I became an online content creator. It was blatantly obvious my perfectionist quality had turned into perfectionism.
I was using the need to be perfect as a safeguard from judgment, failure, and criticism. An obsessive habit of finding fault in my work took over me. My YouTube videos needed to be perfect, or I wouldn’t publish anything at all. My books and blog posts needed to be flawless before I launched them.
Now, instead of working endlessly to make my work perfect, I focus on making it good enough and I execute. That has allowed me to accomplish a lot this year. I was even able to turn my passion into a full-time income.
Of course, you want to put your best work into the world. It’s not about completely getting rid of your nature to be perfect and your desire to make your work outstanding. It’s about preventing it from developing into perfectionism, which stops you from publishing your book, recording your video, launching your website, or starting your online business.
5 Affirmations to Avoid Getting Trapped by Perfectionism
If perfectionism is stopping you from creating the life and business of your dreams, say these affirmations to yourself every morning. They will help you put perfectionism in its place: out of your life.
“I was created to create art.”
Keep this in mind as you read the rest of this post. No matter what your field of work is, it’s an art. Make-up, writing, dancing, teaching, cooking. These are all forms of art.
Some of the most artistic creations were created in imperfect moments. Michael Angelo was a sculptor, not a painter. When they offered him the job of painting the Sistine Chapel, he rejected it. Eventually, he agreed to do it, and now it’s considered one of the greatest works of art in history.
Stop waiting for the perfect circumstance to launch your creation. The more you put yourself out there, fail, and take risks, the greater the chance that you will create the fine work of art that will take your life and business to unforeseen levels.
“Even my greatest hero started at zero.”
Those experts you look up to were once beginners. They didn’t wake up to the level they are now. They worked their way there. They went through their “lousy” phase, which is a stage everyone has to go through.
It’s okay to look at your role models for direction. The mistake comes when you mimic their actions and become discouraged when your efforts don’t produce the same results.
Do this when those crummy symptoms of perfectionism start to creep in. Look at the early works of your favorite YouTuber, blogger, Instagramer, or whoever you admire. Chances are their first pictures, videos, or articles weren’t as good as they are now.
Looking at successful people’s humble beginnings can be encouraging. It reminds us that we don’t have to be perfect when we start. Everyone starts out being lousy.
“I don’t have to be great to start, but I have to start to be great.”
Steven King and JK Rowling didn’t become instant legends. We have the privilege of reading their stories because, even with rejection after rejection, they kept going. They weren’t considered great in their beginning stages. They became masters because they chose to execute no matter how imperfect their work seemed to others.
If you want to be great in your field, you have to be willing to hit the publish button before you’re ready. Get your work out into the world, even if it’s not perfect. You can use the feedback you receive to make it better.
Do the best you can, and let it go. Chances are, due to your perfectionist nature, your work will be better than other’s expectations anyway.
“I focus on progress over perfection.”
When we are making progress, we feel happy and accomplished. But when we are paralyzed by our need to be perfect, we feel like failures.
#progressequalshappiness.
It’s not about doing mediocre work. Putting out work that is subpar will do more harm than good. You should always share the best quality work you can. The paradox is that with quantity, the quality of your art will also improve. You need both: quality and quantity. Focus on getting work done, rather than perfect.
“There is no point in trying to please everyone because I cannot please everyone.”
When perfectionism consumes you, you end up striving for the impossible. No matter how perfect you think your art is, there will always be someone who doesn't like what they see.
Art is subjective. Even your favorite author has bad reviews, and there are people who don’t like Oprah. How is that even possible? People will always have a difference of opinion, and that’s okay.
Know when good enough is good enough. Anytime you notice perfectionism is discouraging you from sharing your art, review these five affirmations. And remember, someone is waiting to hear your message, no matter how imperfect it is.
Don’t let perfectionism paralyze you. Don’t let it stop your hustle.
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