Do you remember going for job interviews where, when asked about your negative traits, you’d reply “I’m a perfectionist”.

I did it too.

There’s the ego talking right there “oh poor me, I’m a perfectionist, I try so hard, I’m so diligent, I do every job to the best of my ability” – already excusing ourselves of future criticism for not producing perfect work. Thinking about me and what others think about me.

A word about ego before we go any further – ego isn’t something you aim to get rid of. It’s your sense of identity, it’s the stories that define who you are and how you live, it’s your friend to get to know so you become more of who you want to be and become free to live outside of the confinements of external validation.

As children most of us are brought up in a society that values external validation and motivation, “stop shouting, what will people think?”, “if you don’t sit down to eat now, mummy’s going to be really upset” etc.

Rather than internal motivation for behavior and decision making which creates confident, secure adults: “I can see you’re upset, you want that toy, let’s go outside until you feel ready to come back and play with the others” or “if you don’t eat now, you’ll be hungry going to bed”. You don’t want to be hungry so you eat – or not – either way it’s been your choice, not motivated by what someone else thinks.

You’re afraid of what people will think of your work. What if it’s not good enough/you’re not good enough? What if someone else could do it better? What if you fail? Essentially, what if your version of perfect isn’t their version of perfect?

How perfection holds you back in business

Now that you have your own business, perfectionism has you putting off getting your program out there, making an offer, sending that newsletter, writing blog posts, being more visible on social media, choosing a niche, changing your niche, updating your website…

Waiting for perfection before taking the action you need to take simply delays reaching your desired outcome.

“I don’t know how to do it. I’m not a good writer. What if no one reacts? What if , what if, what if…”

Let me tell you a secret.

Most of us here, you, me, your business owning friends, we all call ourselves perfectionists or recovering perfectionists. That’s part of the reason we have the drive to build our own businesses.

You want people to like your work. You want to be liked and respected. You want to make a difference.

‘Perfectionist’ is just a name covering up for fear of visibility, of judgment, of taking responsibility for what you’ve created for fear of someone laughing at your program (read: painting, school project, idea for a game etc), of stepping out of your comfort zone.

So how do you drop perfectionism to take action in your business?

The easy reply to that is not to take yourself so seriously. After all, no one takes you as seriously as you do – no one spends so much time thinking about you and what you do or don’t do than you do. Much of our fear is self-inflated.

Ask yourself: “What do I really want to have happen here, by when?”
What is the result of you delaying, of you not taking action?
What is the worst case scenario if you do and no one takes you up on your offer?
What is the best case scenario if people do like what you have to say and take you up on your offer?

Imagine you’ve taken action: how is your inner life different? How do you feel now about yourself – if things didn’t go your way and you’re over the initial disappointment / things did go your way and you’ve got new clients signed up.

If you want a business you have no choice but to take action. It’s up to you how you feel about the action you’ve decided to take.

What’s your top tip for getting over perfectionism to take that next business action?