Do you know the perfectionism spiral?
It is like that; it starts like a little black dot that then grows and grows and turns into a spiral.
It may start with Let’s find the perfect notebook to write this blog, to the perfect pen, to the perfect time, to the perfect word, to the perfect training, and so forth.
Perfectionism is disguised with progress; it is like the story of the wolf and the Red Riding Hood custom. It disguises you as your friend and it isn’t.
Because it makes you believe that you are progressing after all in this story you got the pen, the paper, the word analysis, and the training.
But when you look closer it is a distraction because in all the steps, writing wasn’t involved.
So, the task meant to be done which is to write wasn’t done.
It was avoided.
I see it every day in my practice.
A person spends hours creating the perfect marketing plan yet when it comes time to implement the plan, there is a freeze, and then there is perfectionism most people think lack of implementation is a time management problem or lack of help problem.
Most of the time it is perfectionism.
Perfectionism is like a weed that starts small and grows.
So, what do we do to stop it?
We create progress goals.
For example, utilizing this “post example.”
- Write a goal.
To write a blog that explains the impact of perfectionism and provides 5 tools to overcome it.
Having a goal provides a scope for success. Too large goals like writing a blog get you on the perfectionism spiral because it is endless, there isn’t a beginning and an end.
Perfection is like a weed that lives in ambiguity and ambiguous goals.
Ask yourself this question. Do I know what perfection is?
For example, if you were writing your blog, and you said I will write the perfect blog, do you know what the perfect blog is?
Instead, you could ask yourself what a helpful blog would be.
In this case, if I move to my original intention, it is to write a blog with 5 tips to overcome the perfectionism spiral.
- Have a clear intention.
Example: Write a perfectionism spiral story with 5 tips to overcome the perfectionism spiral.
- Create a progress goal.
Example: Create 1 blog.
- Do the action.
Example: Write the blog.
- Share the action.
Example: Put the blog on the website.
- Celebrate your progress goal when done.
Example: Celebrate yourself for accomplishing the action.
A lot of us wait to celebrate until someone likes our projects or we receive positive feedback.
Celebrating your progress and celebrating getting things done is key.
I encourage you to put this into practice. You can put post-it notes next to your toothpaste and get yourself into inspired action