If you’re wondering whether or not you’re a perfectionist, there’s a good chance you are one, at least to a degree. And even if you don’t check all the boxes for a perfectionist, it’s more likely than not that you’ve fallen victim to the all-or-nothing mentality at least once in your life.
The word “perfectionism” is overused and often misunderstood. From my perspective, it’s rooted in a fear of failure and sense of “not enough”. How many of us have felt this at some point?
The truth is though, striving for perfect, only holds you back. It adds unnecessary stress on top of the highly stressful lives we already lead, it stifles creativity, and prevents you from taking risks and trying new things. Ironically, your fear of failure actually makes you fail by missing out on these critical opportunities for growth and learning.
Maybe for you it’s a new website, an email to a new client, or a job interview. Whatever you’ve been putting off, because of your fear of failure, is only preventing you from growing and stepping into an evolved version of yourself.
Fear of all criticism is a paralyzing way to live. Nothing truly new, original, and great can be created without making many mistakes along the way.
As an entrepreneur, I’ve had to learn that perfectionism only holds you back and it’s better to put something out there, fail fast and iterate because ‘done is better than perfect.’