You know the saying, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” This means embracing your imperfections and understanding that excellence doesn’t mean being flawless. The key to growth and self-improvement is progress. Progress = 1% improvement. Think about that: 1% is all you need to ‘be’ progress.
Let’s get real about perfection versus progress. For starters, let’s understand that perfection has limitations.
Perfection is a trap. It’s an illusion that moves further away each time we try to reach it. Perfectionism is debilitating. We second-guess ourselves and worry about making mistakes. It leads to missed opportunities and strained relationships.
Perfection is the faux appearance of perfect, happy people on social media. This leads to an unrealistic comparison with others, feeling unhappy, and of low self-worth.
“I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for – perfection is God’s business.” – Michael J. Fox
Now that we are on the same page of perfection being the bad guy, let’s move on to embracing progress over perfection.
When you aim for progress, you allow yourself to learn, experiment, and improve over time. This approach is a growth-oriented mindset, which is much healthier and more conducive to personal and professional development. One of my most important learnings in focusing on progress over perfection is that progress always feels accomplished. It always feels happy, too!
When you accept that something is progress, you give yourself permission to move forward. You stop the taxing cycle of tweaking and polishing so you can move forward. This doesn’t mean settling for mediocrity; this means understanding that there’s value in what you’ve achieved thus far. It’s ok to share your work even if it’s not perfect. This article is an example. It’s not perfect. It’s progress!!
One simple way to see progress is to start small. Instead of waiting for everything to be perfect before you start, just get started. Take the first step, no matter how small it may be. This builds confidence while you gain momentum.
Another way to embrace progress over perfection is getting feedback on your progress from trusted loved ones. No need to wait until something is finished to ask for feedback. Inquire when it’s 50% or 80% as if it’s a checkpoint to share your progress. You might just discover your 80% is a complete success as is!
Involving others in your progress also shows them that they don’t have to be perfect either and can be progress unto itself. Relationships improve dramatically without the constant perfectionism expectation. Calling all control freaks!! Let’s talk about progress in relationships!
When you set impossible ‘control’ expectations for those around you, it causes strain and resentment. Learning to be satisfied with ‘progress’ leads to healthier, more satisfying relationships. Take a baby step in this today by doing one thing – tell your loved one they did a great job, or they are a big help in something. This message communicates that however, they did that something, it’s meaningful to you.
I’m very big on this next important aspect of progress for so many reasons in life – resilience!
Facing challenges and obstacles, whether the outcome was as you intended, in itself is progress. Recovery or restoration from any kind of disappointment is resilience. You will learn, grow, and become stronger. That’s progress! Learning this one skill of resilience will help your entire life with progress and happiness. This topic deserves its own article, so stay tuned :).
Look at imperfection as relatable. Life is a messy, unpredictable, beautiful journey, and our imperfections make us human and relatable. Embracing your imperfections allows you to live authentically and be human, like the rest of us.
One of my favorite children’s books is called “Beautiful Oops” by Barney Saltzberg. It is the epitome of appreciating and valuing a mistake or imperfection for the sake of its as-is beauty. Such a good message for all ages. I think we lose the beauty of imperfection while growing up and compare ourselves and our work to others. Children are the greatest teachers of beautiful oops’ because they naturally recreate an outcome to their benefit! Love <3 children teachers!
And finally, let’s consider how you define success. How can you redefine it? Redefining success is progress! Can we agree that success right here, right now is progress? Define success in terms of progress and growth, and the outcome or achievement is already a win.
In the grand scheme of things, progress is what truly matters. Progress with our health. Progress with our relationships. Progress with our family. Progress with our work. Progress with our purpose. Progress with our well-being. Progress with today and tomorrow. Progress is 1% better.
Don’t Be Perfect. Be Progress.