are you a perfectionist?

     How many of you have heard that being a perfectionist is a good quality? I know I have but, I’m here to tell you that, in my experience, not taking action just because it won’t be perfect the first time is a recipe for inaction. I always knew that I dealt with not taking action. I would get a new business idea, make a plan, and when it was time to act, I would talk myself out of it. I would worry about problems and obsess over hurdles that I would face, or I would think about what may or may not happen to the point where I convince myself it was a bad idea. I convinced myself it wasn’t perfect, then I would justify it. “Well, that business doesn’t work for many people anyways.” Or, “I just need to focus on this other thing for now.” I convinced myself that I had made the right logical decision by not taking action. Now let’s summarize. I would get an idea, study for hours, plan the execution to a “T,” and then not execute. I would convince myself I made the right decision, then a day later wonder why life is so hard and why I can’t get ahead. 

     Are you kidding me? How on earth did I believe what my perfectionist brain was telling me? Blame it on society. Blame it on your education. Blame it on life circumstances. But I’m here to tell you that the real problem is you. You want to be an expert on something before you even start. Please explain to me how that works. Newsflash… it doesn’t. I heard an analogy one time that a person’s growth is like walking in a dense fog. You can only see your next step but you can’t see the step after that. Success isn’t created from knowing the answers from the get-go. Should you plan? Yes. Should you prepare? Yes. Should you not take the next step just because you aren’t sure about every little detail or aren’t 100% prepared for every situation that may happen? Heck no. Keep walking. A working plan in action is better than a perfect plan sitting on the shelf. Let me give an example. I was scared to death to start this website. Would people like it? What if I can’t master the software? What if people don’t relate? What if I’m just wasting my time? Well in the past, these questions would have stopped me but not this time. This time I had to succeed. I didn’t have any other option. Enough was enough. Is my website visually stunning? Not really. Does my content please everyone? That’s a byproduct. I’m trying to change lives and touch hearts. Am I wasting my time? No, I’m using my gifts. Here’s the point. I don’t know what business you want to start or what goal you want to achieve, but the only way that you are going to get there is by taking action.