Ever hear the expression "Progress Over Perfection? "

Just Say No to Being Perfect!

Valuable advice -- making progress on your goals or taking steps forward always improves your company's performance and competitive position, even if what you're doing isn't absolutely perfect.  But, more often than not, women business owners worry too much about being perfect, and making sure everything is just so or they have a fear of falling short!  In this blog, I want to share some thoughts about the importance of loving and accepting yourself just the way you are, while also highlighting some pitfalls with excessive focus on perfection!

I think perfection is an illusion, and obsession with "perfection" is a self-defeating prophecy that just causes more stress and can take the joy out of everything.  News Flash -- this just in -- we all make mistakes, we all suffer setbacks, we all feel disappointment when things don't go just the way we want.

And, yes, it's true -- NO ONE IS PERFECT!   Unlike some of our male counterparts, who seem to "shake off" defeat or reversals, I've often seen women business owners being too harsh on themselves, or simply spending too much time on a particular task -- rewriting or redoing it many times so it's "perfect."  And while that one task may have come out well, too much time was spent on one thing, and the rest of your day gets away from you. 

I'm not suggesting it's a good idea to do mediocre work or settling for less than your personal standards , but I'm suggesting you take a minute to reflect for a minute and ask yourself -- are you spending too much time on certain things that someone else could do, or is your "to do" list too long?  Can you pare it to a "must do" list, so you're not overworked so you have time for creativity and innovation?

As a long term student of overcoming perfectionism tendencies myself. A friend once suggested I take inventory of my actions and make a mental note each time the world does not end because I failed to be perfect. 

In that spirit, be sure you honestly evaluate your efforts and decide when you've spent enough time on a project or task, and ask yourself how much more work is needed to move the needle. 

If four more hours makes something 2% better, it's not worth the additional time! More on because it is good enough my friend 🤗

Even when it comes to our daily diets of eating well and taking care of ourselves. Many women including myself need to be reminded  to love your body the way it is just as you are. You are a perfectly imperfect human who is worthy of love just as you are. Do not shame yourself and talk down to yourself overeating 1 ice cream cone or treat love yourself any way and do better at your next meal.

At Beyond Common, our mission is to inspire and empower women business owners to look and feel their best so they can achieve their personal version of success.

If you need a hand taking a look at your operation to see what could be streamlined, or where systems could be implemented, check out our Beyond Common Goal Setting Guidebook Training. 

We don't obsess with perfection, we focus on achieving extraordinary results by providing our best strategies and business success systems  to women business owners and leaders! 

For more business success secrets tune into the Beyond Common Business Secrets Podcast.  every week.

Thank you so much for reading our blog!

With Gratitude,

Tracey Watts Cirino