The Enemy Of Progress Called "Perfection"

A lot of people have been waiting for the perfect moment to take an action, the perfect method to do it, or even the perfect action itself, and they end up not taking any step at all. When trying to pursue excellence or something qualitative, it can open up one to the risk of falling into the trap of incessant quest for perfection. As much as it is good to gain mastery in what you do and it is good to do things well, but placing perfection at the forefront can actually be a disadvantage rather than an advantage. This is because it can block someone's progress and keep them from taking steps.

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There are some people that before they take any step, they will sit, overanalyse it, view it from multiple perspectives, brood over it, and overthink about it, and at the end, they will still not take any step because they feel they want the right time to act. They tend to forget that the most perfect time to take the step that you have always wished for is immediately. While they are waiting for when the time will be most appropriate, others would have taken their own step. And even if they had failed at it, they would have corrected themselves and learnt a couple of lessons from it and now doing better. The idea is not to jump into perfection but to keep getting better as the days go by.

It is worthy to note that perfection, in life and in reality, is always a mirage - an illusion, which do not exist but it is made up in the mind just to keep one on the same spot and to prevent them from taking steps. I am not saying that it is not good to strive towards perfection but it should not determine when you take an action. Waiting for when everything will be fine before you take a step may keep you from taking the step in the first place. The truth is that whatever mastery you think you have gained in any aspect of life, there are still many others that have more mastery than you there, and you have not gained perfection yet.

One of the weapons that perfectionism uses to pin someone at a spot is fear. The weapon of fear is so strong that it can paralyse one's zeal to take up actions. This kind of fear can include fear of taking a step and failing at it, fear of the outcome of the action, fear of the unknown, fear of what people will say and their criticisms, etc. All these fears do not only come but are amplified when your dominant thoughts are channelled towards your quest for perfection instead of taking steps and getting better from them. The sincere truth is that even if perfection is possible, you still have to start as an amateur and keep practicing until you achieve it - not jumping into it.

Some years back, I joined a particular choral group. Not necessarily because I was good at songs, but I wanted to learn, grow and become better. However, the choral leader at that time was so conscious of perfectionism without even caring about the growth of others. Whenever we went for presentation and even in ministrations, she would just select the ones she thought were perfect to perform with her, while the others will be sidelined. Even in the in-house performances, she would still not give the others opportunity to learn and grow. Weirdly enough, the same set of people that she normally used for performance started feeling too big. Some will even do things as they like and some will excuse themselves from rehearsals without prior notice.

All these were happening because they were beginning to feel too indispensable, and she had created the illusion that they were the only ones to give her the perfection she needed. Well, things started falling out of hand and it got to a point when there was a performance but the key choral members were not present as they also had their own engagements. She had to fall back on the same people she called amateurs. Well, since they had been excluded from practice, which hindered their growth, they delivered very amateurish. She learnt her lessons to carry everyone along. Afterall, availability is more preferable, when the person is willing to learn, than capabily.

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It is also worth noting that being over-cautious and having too much obsession about perfectionism can cause procrastination. Of course, when you have an obviously impossible task to do or an outrightly impossible standard to meet, the fear of it alone can make one not to start at all, thus leading to procrastination. This is why you need to lay aside the quest for perfect moment and impossibly high standards and take a step. When you do, even though the first step may be imperfect, but with constant attempts and more steps, you will grow and become better - just the way the first step of a baby may be flawed and imperfect but with time and by taking further steps, they will master the act of walking.

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