4 Mantras to Suspend Perfectionism
Posted by Jan Wencel on Fri, Feb 03, 2012
Watch the following video or read the text below to suspend and help others to let go of perfectionism:
If perfectionism vexes you and prevents you from starting or finishing tasks, what words or phrases can you use to suspend the dysfunctional behavior so you can get unstuck? Following are four I find useful:
1 Experiment
For a recovering perfectionist like me, using the word experiment is liberating. When I want to try something new, I approach it as an experiment rather than a cold, hard fact of life. Things instantly get lighter and become approachable. Experiments aren’t perfect, they’re fun!
2 Doing things right versus doing the right things
This was one of the time management jewels from Randy Pausch's body of work highlighting the failures of focusing on the wrong right.
3 Done is better than perfect
A fellow personal productivity coach taught me the power of this phrase. For instance, having this post published today in its current state is better than having it posted in a few weeks with a few more nuggets of gold. You might need the advice to make your weekend better!
4 Satisfice
One of Life Contained's time management seminar participants touted the fourth mantra: satifice, a blending of satisfy and suffice.
The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy defines it as "an outcome that is good enough. Satisficing action can be contrasted with maximizing action, which seeks the biggest, or with optimizing action, which seeks the best...it is often rational to seek to satisfice i.e. to get a good result that is good enough although not necessarily the best."
What language do you use to set your inner stickler free?
P.S. Feel free to point out typos and grammatical errors, as my non-perfectionist geek flag is flying freely.