Note: a version of this post originally appeared on LinkedIn here. It resonated, so I decided to share it with you too.
Perfectionism doesn’t make you feel perfect. It makes you feel inadequate.
~Maria Shriver
One of the most insidious parts of perfectionism is when we watch other people do the things we want to do — often without nearly the experience, insight or quality we'd bring to it.
"Humph," we sigh to ourselves. "How is that getting traction? I had that idea a long time ago, and this is average at best."
Is this us at our most generous? No.
But is it a common reaction? Yes.
And it eats at us because we know exactly why it’s getting traction — because it’s out in the world: imperfect AND public.
Somewhere along the way, that person decided to put their words, their ideas, their art, their strategy up for public consumption — as a post, in a meeting, in a book, as part of a panel discussion — rather than keeping it tucked away until it was perfect.
They understand that there's more value in the imperfectly visible than the perfectly hidden.
Great things are rarely great out of the gate. They evolve into something great over time — with feedback, practice and continuous improvement.
And that requires other people engaging with it.
[and also, greatness isn't always the right measure anyway]
Whatever it is that you're holding back on — an idea, an opinion, a piece of art, a project, an offer or a decision — ask yourself how many more people you're willing to watch go after it while you wait until some mythical moment when it all comes together in perfect harmony.
Life is short, friends. Just last week I learned that a friend of a friend passed away suddenly. She was 48 - just two years older than me.
There's absolutely no time for perfect.