As self employed people we all have a strategic plan of action, a design in our heads to lead us to our goals. Its what we believe to be the pathway to start up our success and each step on the path must be perfected before allowing ourselves to move on and actually start up. Its our way of maximising the impact of our efforts with timing and structure to ensure success in the end.
This strategy derives from a character trait known as being a perfectionist. Its an admirable trait but can also be our greatest flaw because in reality, the more time we waste getting minor details perfect is more time wasted in reaching our main goal.
What is perfection?
One persons idea of perfection is different to anothers and what’s more your own idea of perfection can change instantly sending you on a wild goose chase. In turn the more time you spend waiting for the perfect time, the more distant perfection becomes because nothing is ever perfect.
Waiting for perfection usually spawns from a real perfect reason:
We don’t have the budget
The times not right
We didn’t plan it that way.
These are all true and good enough reasons to wait but wait too long and the details become barriers because time and perfection is ever changing. Rather then waste time waiting for perfection, chase it instead and just go through the barriers anyway.
Dive under them, walk around them, open them or jump right over them and you’ll find that you’re a step closer to your goals whilst the barriers were never a problem in the first place.
As a designer, being a perfectionist is a character trait and when it comes to work, I chase perfection with every job. Any good design though takes and needs time but in business, time is a valuable commodity not to be wasted. In design its the overall concept that needs finalising to reach a goal rather then the details because they’ll always change with time.
Whatever your plans for 2011, don’t wait for perfection to start them. Get the overall concept down and have a plan of action as a map. Don’t dwell or wait for perfection with details, chase it instead and just take the jump. If your opposed by barriers, get in touch and we’ll break them down for you.
