This is the third piece in our overcome procrastination series. Please enjoy it.
Assessment: Excellence vs. Perfection
Rank yourself 1 to 10 on the following statements:
“I spend a lot of time on tiny details. Even when I know they’re not important!”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 That’s not me That’s so me!
“I start a whole lot of projects, and it’s exciting! But . . . I almost never finish one.”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 That’s not me That’s so me!
“I find myself thinking and pondering all the ‘what if’s’ before I get started.”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 That’s not me That’s so me!
“There is definitely a ‘right way’ to do things. I’m just not sure I’m doing it that way.”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 That’s not me That’s so me!
“I keep re-writing the first couple paragraphs . . . but I’ve got 7 more pages to write!”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 That’s not me That’s so me!
**Average Score: ______**
Just a reminder... Article 6 in this series tells you what to do with your scores. For now, just keep reading, and take it one step at a time... that’s the way this works.
Good news! Perfection doesn’t exist.
Look, we humans are fantastic and beautiful and smart and incredibly advanced, but c’mon... we’re also silly and flawed.
We’re simply not perfect! Which means everything we do or say or create will have little flaws too. Turns out, that’s completely OK.
There are two ways to look at perfectionism.
- If you believe in God, then look at it this way: Perfection belongs only to the Divine, and as Paul said, we are always going to fall short of the greater glory of God.
- If you don’t believe in God, then look at it this way: We’re the best thing going on this floating rock in space – the most advanced species by a pretty decent margin – but we ain’t perfect.
If you scored above a 6 on the perfectionism assessment, then perfectionism is drastically affecting your ability to get things done.
The good news, now that we’ve agreed perfection doesn’t exist, is that that your natural desire to do things right will always place you squarely in the realm of excellence in everything that you do, and excellence is awesome!
We humans are naturally excellent at so many things, so we know that your natural excellence is present in anything you do or create. Yes, your flaws will be in those creations too, but there’s plenty of room for flaws and humanity and beauty and fun in excellence!
Article 3 Re-cap.
Excellence is natural, perfection is a myth. Letting go of the concept of perfection lets you breathe a sigh of relief and take immediate action.
By the way, that old perfectionism might make you want to try our hypnosis product to overcome procrastination... and that might sound like a chance to “fix this perfectionism flaw as quickly as possible”... but now that we know it’s not a flaw, you can just take it easy, and read on.
It’s important that we do this one step at a time - or not.
- Where do you think your standards / values came from?
- Do you still choose to believe in the same standards & values you received in the past?
About your perfectly imperfect author: Brennan Smith, C.Ht. is a procrastination hypnosis specialist who helps individuals and groups lead extraordinary lives. This is accomplished through on-line hypnosis audio programs at NaturalHypnosis.com, and through group leadership trainings for government agencies, corporate executive teams, and public workshop offerings.
View all the other parts of this six part procrastination series:
Part 1: Why do we procastrinate.
Part 2: Low self esteem and lack of confidence.
Part 3: Perfectionism - you are here now.
Part 4: Fear of success and of the unknown.