Perfectionism is conformity in disguise. Here’s why.
“Perfection is impossible. Just strive to do your best.” — Angela Watson
When you aim for perfection in life, it’s because there’s already been a standard of perfection that you’re trying to measure up to. Which means that pre-existing standard was set by somebody (or a group of somebodies) prior to your attempts to achieve that perfection.
Therefore, as you strive for perfection, you’re actually conforming to someone else’s idea of what “perfect” is. You’re not living of your own volition, or intuition or self-actualization — you’re simply trying to measure up to a standard that someone else created.
We’ve all heard that “done is better than perfect”, which is another way of saying that the relentless pursuit of perfection can often prevent us from finishing anything. In the tech world and Silicon Valley, there’s another take on this idea, “Fuck it. Ship it.” Which can be interpreted as saying a product that’s released to the public (even if it’s still in BETA) is better than nothing being released at all.
In essence, the pursuit of perfection can be a self-limiting belief system that holds you back from ever actually finishing, releasing or sharing anything of value.
“The pursuit of perfection often impedes improvement.” — George Will
“Perfection to me is, I walk away from a situation and say, ‘I did everything I could do right there. There was nothing more that I could do.’ I was a hundred percent, like the meter was at the top. There was nothing else I could have done. You know? Like, I worked as hard as I possibly could have. That’s perfection.” — Drake
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This writing was originally posted on Wellevatr.com.
