Everyone struggles with something. My personal demon? Perfectionism. I want to make all the right decisions. I don’t want to make a mistake. I especially don’t want to make a very visible or very expensive mistake, especially with my business, my passion. I want the perfect track record. And this demon is no good for me, no good for my business. It’s time for an exorcism.

All too often, it manifests itself as procrastination, as putting off a decision or action because when I decide, or when I act, I want it to be perfect. That’s the canary in the coal mine – that’s the indicator that perfectionism is in play for me – and that’s the first step to overcoming this – identify what real-world things happen as a result of perfectionism. For me, when I see myself putting something off, that’s when the flashing red lights go off.

The other thing I must consciously do is accept that I am not going to have the whole picture all the time. I’m not going to know everything that’s going to happen – it’s impossible. So, instead, when breaking down the big goal into manageable chunks it is important to start doing the first chunk even when all the chunks aren’t fully understood. Like any good biker knows, I need to go with the flow and be open to what the road brings.

Perfectionism is a joy-stealer. Entrepreneurs pour their passions into their work, and when perfectionism is in play, that passion gets robbed, negated, destroyed. Don’t let that happen! Your passion is ultimately what makes or breaks you.

The release from perfectionism is simple in theory, difficult in application. It’s about saying to yourself “It’s OK that this is not perfect – I need to get it out there or make this decision in order to make space and time for the other things that are also important to me.”

It’s about saying “whatever happens, I can handle it.” Not about putting out sloppy work – but releasing ourselves from overly-critical and unsustainable judgments about ourselves – detaching from the unrealistic criticism we dump on ourselves or that we is dumped on us by others.

Unsustainable – ultimately that’s what perfectionism is, and it’s also what it means for a person’s life or business. Perfectionism is simply an unsustainable habit. It needs to get kicked to the curb (with laughter and joy) each time it rears its head, before it tries to take you or your business with it.

“It is OK that this is not perfect.” “Whatever happens, I can handle it.” Smile. Laugh!

What is your struggle? Is it perfectionism? What is your canary-in-the-coal-mine, your indicator that you’re in its grip?

Keep the shiny side up…

…Allen

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