How to Overcome Perfectionism

When you set out to make change, or to embark on a bold new venture, there will always be resistance. One common area of resistance is perfectionism and overthinking.

“Perfectionists spend too much time on little difference as the margins at the expense of the important things.” says Ray Dalio.

With a perfectionist mindset, you place too much emphasis on things that don’t matter as much. You focus on reaching an ideal state that is unrealistic at your current state. This can apply to projects and tasks as well as to relationships, experiences, and other areas of responsibility in your life.

A few ways to overcome perfectionism include:

  1. Limit the scope of how much time you are willing to spend on something, and then ship what you have within your timeline.
  2. Give yourself a deadline for when you will decide on something, and then make the best choice you can with the information you have.
  3. Start with your first bad idea or crappy first draft. Use this to create movement and get started, knowing that action and experience will bring more clarity.
How to Overcome Perfectionism