The Mythology of Perfection
Perfection bothers me.
I hear it all the time: “My idea is great, but it’s not perfect.” or “I’m waiting to perfect my blog until I launch it.”
Quite frankly, it’s crap. It’s lame. It’s an excuse.
Perfection is an inability to define vision, clouded by doubt and fear.
It doesn’t exist in humanity. Given the fact that everything we do or say falls victim to interpretation, how is possible for perfection to survive? How do we expect our flawed selves to produce perfection?
Even if we can comprehend perfection, we cannot define it through action.
What’s worse, this unicorn of an accomplishment does nothing but mask a problem. It distracts us. Derails our focus. Often times it’s best to just battle doubt with an ounce of “Ah Hell, I’ll push the button anyway.”
I attended SOBCon this year, where my biggest takeaway was combating fear with unbridled bravery. Embrace fear. It’s an misunderstood obstacle that precedes greatness. One of my favorite moments came from the amazing Steve Farber, who stated, “If the only reason you don’t want to do something is because you are scared, THAT’s the reason you should.”
Another thought that stuck with me through that weekend, “Just launch the damn thing, then tweak it.”
Perfection is a myth. Identify it for what it really is and deconstruct the obstacles it has laid between you and the next step.
I stumbled across this tweet that says it better than I can:
Here’s how you can destroy your productivity: strive for perfection.
Derek Halpern
derekhalpern
Very nice Eric! Ahhh, perfectionism, something that many struggle with…funny you mention “just launch the damn thing, than tweak it.” This is actually something I started doing this past month. I write it, do a once over and then hit publish and yes I’ve logged back in the back end of my blog in a quick hurry to fix random little things that bug me but in the end, I feel a sense of accomplishment. For me it’s become just as much about getting into a blogging routine as it is about putting forth my best work.
BTW, great job on your website! I know how much of a labor of love it has been for you and you did good!
Thank you Lindsay! We’re our own worst enemies sometimes. I know we have variable lines between “perfection” and irresponsibility, but most of us have it pointed way to far in this direction and need to ease up.
Thank you for being my first ever comment!
Eric – I am so glad that someone finally said this! There are so many really smart, talented people out there who won’t share their knowledge with the rest of us because they are striving for something that will never exist – perfectionism. I’m all for spelling and grammar checks and thought into each new venture, but there has to be a degree of risk and an openness to mistakes. That’s the great thing about social media – being able to put yourself out there and letting your community help keep you accurate. Thanks for saying it!!
Oh, and congrats on the new site! I love it!
Liz, thank you! You’re so right to bring social media in to the mix. It’s ability to be transparent and reveal more of who we are has made it easier to accept the idea that chasing perfection is a waste of time.
Thank you again for the visit!
Eric:
Love the blog title, look, feel and of course your words. I had a hard time finding “the perfect thing to say” so instead, I’ll just say Kudos to you for facing your fear head on and conquering it.
I’ll be a regular reader for sure.
Thank you Jeff! You’ve been a tremendous supporter and I’ve always appreciated your motivation and words of wisdom. I’m proud to have you as a reader!
Eric,
Congrats on the new blog. Very nice.
The subject of this post touches on a major theme in my life; how to embrace failure. Notice I didn’t say, over come, I said embrace failure.
I’m working to learn how to embrace failure in all of it’s forms, including public. Why? If you can’t be OK with failing spectacularly, it’s almost impossible to have the guts to do what is needed to succeed spectacularly. Embracing failure reduces a good portion of the fear that paralyzes you.
The Steve Farber idea that the fact that you’re afraid of it means that you should do it, works only if you succeed. Succeeding in the face of your fear of failure will reinforce the idea that taking risks pays off. However, if you fall on your face but don’t have a positive way to view that failure, it’s extremely hard to get back up and try again.
We all need to stop taking everything so seriously. Nothing is the end of the world. Wear life a little more lightly and you will be able to take the risks you need to take in order to grow. When I look at failure that way, I see that perfection can never be my goal if I want to succeed at anything.
Jenise, thank you so much for the comment. I love that you differentiate overcoming and accepting failure. It’s VERY difficult to embrace failure. Much easier said than done. But it’s without those risks that we move laterally and it’s without those failures that we remain numb and unmotivated to conquer.
I saw a great tweet a while back, unfortunately I can’t remember who said it: “You don’t learn to ride a bike from reading a book on how to do it.” You’ve got to risk it, and there’s a very good chance you’ll fall on your ass. But you’re then just a little closer to success.
Eric, I am so proud of you for launching your own blog! I think it will be a life-changing experience.
The ideas expressed here reflect those in Seth Godin’s recent book, Linchpin. The concept of “art must ship” is powerful, especially for those in the creative pursuits. Artists want perfection so badly that they never move forward, stay stuck, and truly embody the term “starving artists.”
Congratulations on shipping your art!
Hey Heidi! Thank you for the support!
I’ll admit I haven’t read anything from Seth to date, but each day I’m finding that I need to! I’ll check it out!
Thank you for commenting!
Congrats on the new blog! I agree be like Nike and “Just Do It!” Lookin forward to hearing/seeing your wisdom, art, and meanderings placed into the universe for all to consume! Congrats again!
Todd, thanks so much! I’m very excited for the chance to share my ramblings with you all, and I’m very thankful for your support!
Congrats Eric! You got off to a great start, and I like your clean design.
Ah, perfection, destroyer (like Shiva) of worlds. As others have said here, it all comes from what we’ve been taught–through the media and through “traditional” education–about our self worth being bound to not making mistakes, which is how perfection is culturally defined.
If we’re all supposed to be robots, parts of a factory, turning out the same thing over and over again, then perfection is good for the factory owners. Perhaps that’s why it’s been pushed all these years.
Confining my actions in this way, doesn’t work for me when I’m being creative. Which is when I have the most fun.
Another reason to throw out clinging to perfection is that I want to learn, and the best way for me to do that is to try new stuff, some of which is going to fail.
Pushing through the fear of failure, allowing myself to take risks and be more creative, being able to learn new stuff faster. What’s not to like?
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to riff on perfection Eric!
Adrian, thank you for your added wisdom. I love the analogy of a factory as they usually produce the same thing, over and over. Perfect maybe, but rarely unique. The failure, as you elude to, is what shapes us and feeds us to learn and experience more.
Great insights, thank you again Adrian!
Eric — Perfection is a place you’ll never reach and when you do you’ll probably be bored and people won’t care (not to mention some kid will one up your idea a year from now. Regarding the tweet you share about productivity destruction and perfection… there’s a fine balance between knowing how far to take something before there is a point of diminishing return.
The Eric Lukazewski blog version 1.0 has lift off… and I like it!
Keep it rolling my friend.
Chris, thank you generously for your added insights and support! You’re absolutist right; if we ever do reach our defined “perfection,” then what? What does YOUR perfection do for customers or anyone else?
Thank you for visiting brother!
Eric,
I am so thrilled that you created something that is all yours! I wish you great joy as you explore your artistic side as a writer!
And thank you for the reminder about Steve’s quote – it’s a powerful one and so relevant for me personally as I, too, move past my fears post-sobcon.
All the best Eric,
@LisaPetrilli
A big THANK YOU Lisa for your leadership and actions that have played a role in this launch! My appreciation for meeting you at SOBCon cannot be measured.
I’m going to leave the perfect comment….some day! (congrats on the launch!
Ha! Thanks Steve
Wow, Eric,
I am so impressed with your new blog. The title is awesome, your words are smoothly articulated, and your heart is present everywhere.
That, my friend, is special.
I look forward to visiting this place often and to learning more about Eric, the person.
All the best,
@michaelmccurry
Michael I can’t say thanks enough for those kind words. It’s a true blessing having your lead to follow and even more of one to have your support in return. Thank you for being a part of this my friend.
If I was to chose one person that has inspired me in my way of thinking and freedom of expression I would need to say it is you Eric. You have an artistic way of pushing all boundaries in your point of view which is what makes you a leader in your industry. I applaud you for a great blog and I look forward to what else you surprise us with! Keep up the awesomeness my friend!
Jose, thank you. Your kind words are extremely motivating. I’m thrilled to share a similar passion for creative thinking and artistic expression with you!
Aw, this was a seriously nice post. In notion I would like to put in writing like this moreover ?§C taking time and actual effort to make a incredibly excellent article?- but what can I say?- I procrastinate alot and by no indicates seem to get something carried out.