Today’s Changing World Shows How Perfect is the Enemy of Good
We can all be handcuffed by the idea of something not being good enough to start or share with others. I have written multiple times before on the subject, including 5 Tips From a Recovering Perfectionist, and Would You Rather be Best or Better? It seems now it is even more important not to let the idea of perfect get in the way of iterative steps forward. In an environment where change is happening at lightning speed, new normal is a buzz word, and everyone is facing unprecedented economic disruption. The idea of getting anything perfect, or even great from the start is a farce. Now more than ever - perfect will be the enemy of good enough to start.
Psychological Impact
Beyond some of the practicalities that come with striving for unreachable goals, there are several psychological implications for this approach as well. It can have an impact on your overall happiness. During a time when finding good news and joy is a challenge, there is no need to add to that stress. I consider myself an optimist. When I wrote the article I mentioned about being a recovering perfectionist, there was a lot of self-reflection in that. In the times we find ourselves in, perfect is impossible. We simply will not get things right on the first try right now. We must be okay with good enough and first steps. This will be the only way forward.
Perfection can paralyze. This is the main theme from the article Why Perfect Is The Enemy Of Good by Alex Lickerman M.D. He writes about the freezing effect which striving for perfection can have and how it drains happiness in its wake. Neither are ever good outcomes, but especially not now.
In The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good by Steven Novella, he addresses similar challenges in working through imperfect scenarios. His articles show the importance of not trying to take a single perfect approach to some complex situations. He even speaks to the creation of vaccines, something that is of keen interest to the world right now. Imagine what would happen if the scientists working on a COVID-19 vaccine quit when the first attempt didn’t work. Or if they held back trials because it might not work exactly as intended or for every situation. If that were the case we would not have a solution for this current situation or any other previous viral epidemics (think polio, smallpox, measles, etc.).
Addressing perfectionism
With all of the concern about allowing perfection to be the barrier to continual improvement, how then should we address it? In Your Secret Mental Weapon: 'Don't Let the Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good’ from an article on Entrepreneur.com some potential responses are shared. Look beyond the Big Bang outcome and work on the small steps that lead to large progress over time. Don’t let small failures hold you back from learning new approaches and concepts that can be used for other things. 3M’s famous error in a process for making glue turned into a non-permanent adhesive that was the foundation of Post It Notes.
We live in an imperfect world, pandemic or not. There will always be the need to work towards better, improvement, the next iteration. Holding back for the perfect solution and just the right time is a fallacy that lends itself to those whose egos hold them back from understanding what is possible when not seeking the glory that comes from the fabled perfect discovery. Everything is a journey, there is no one ideal destination that serves everyone the same. Good things can come from non-perfection. We just need to let it happen. And now, we need each other and our ideas to come together to build on one another to rebuild a world that finds itself smaller than ever.
How do you fight the battle of perfection in your environment?
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Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash