On Perfection

When I was a kid, I was good at everything. I didn't realize it at the time, but this was because every task I had to do was trivial. The systems we derive success from as children are designed so that any child with a desire to succeed can do so, and I definitely had a desire.

As I grew, this made me think that I not only could do everything well, but that I should. It created an unhealthy habit of perfectionism. This habit, I've learned, usually results in the opposite.

Perfectionism promises greatness, but delivers paralysis. A perfectionist mindset breeds two distinct failure modes:

1. The inability to start. Both needing perfect context and a fear of failure lead to procrastination. Greatness isn't achievable if things never get done.

2. The inability to finish. Striving for perfection means work can continue forever. Greatness requires timely and frequent results.

Perfectionism is a cruel irony that holds back growth. Conversely, imperfect work results in feedback and learning through iteration. This process leads to mastery, and mastery leads to greatness.

Thus, the solution to perfectionism isn't lowering your standards, but being willing to put imperfect work out there with the goal of improving that imperfect work each time.

Focus on progress, not perfection.