Are you a perfectionist business owner?
Understandable. But did you know that perfectionism can backfire and have you spinning your wheels trying to make everything perfect instead of moving forward?
Without any realization that it’s happening, it’s easy to get so absorbed in trying to make everything perfect in one area that you neglect everything else. It’s called perfectionism-paralysis, where you’re so obsessed with making one thing perfect that all forward momentum comes to a grinding halt.
It’s easy to get caught up in trying to make the WRONG things perfect. Know which ones those are? Most often, perfectionism-paralysis affects the activities ones ones you should be outsourcing so you can focus on what YOU do best.
Basically, if something isn’t generating revenue, then don’t worry about making it perfect. It does not need THAT level of focus. Sure, it’s nice to have an ideal to shoot for: the perfect filing system, for example, but does the filing system have to be perfect when the sales process has gaping holes? Of course you want everything to run smoothly and efficiently, and absolutely, it makes sense to streamline and improve your processes. But if you’re spending more mental effort on that than on creating and presenting a great product or service to your clients, then you may as well relegate yourself to the position of office manager and not the company visionary.
Practice letting go of things that don’t generate revenue or don’t move the business forward. Outsource where you can – the payoff is HUGE when you consider the time and energy savings on your part. And don’t sweat the small stuff.
Perfectionism is admirable in that it pushes you to greater efforts and it makes you want to create your absolute best product or provide your absolute best service. However, perfectionism is a completely unrealistic goal. Nothing is perfect, except that your mind makes it so. Even the most finely ground optical glass in a space telescope has slight imperfections. Even the most finely honed, sharp surgical instrument has tiny nicks and waves in the steel. Even the most delicious cake and the most gorgeous painting have imperfections either in slightly (we’re talking a few grains of flour) imperfect measurements or a teeny mistake with the brush. Nothing in Nature is perfect either.
Try your best, but let go of the stuff that you can outsource, and if you can’t outsource it, prioritize and focus your energies on what makes you money and brings you the most happiness.
Inspired by a post by Anilia at www.motivatedsista.com