10 Sneaky Ways PERFECTIONISM Is Hurting Your Network Marketing Business
After I left my corporate career to pursue my own business, I quickly learned that what served me well as an employee didn’t translate equally to the entrepreneurial space especially PERFECTIONISM.
It was super hard for me to let good enough be good enough. After 20 years of the critical corporate eye, I wanted to over produce and work on everything I got my hands on.
Entrepreneurs learn to get comfortable creating lousy work while employees are prone to perfectionism.
It makes sense if you think about it. Employees, constantly under the watchful eye of their bosses, strive for perfectionism. Worried that if they underperform, they will lose their job.
But entrepreneurs thrive on moving work and the idea that good is good enough. They have learned that putting out lousy work means that at least they're producing, and it’s better to create and fail than to not have created at all. Often some of the best lessons are in the failures.
Think about this for a second, if you struggle with perfectionism, if you want everything to be perfect before you make a move that is the EXACT opposite of how a duplicatable Network Marketing model works and how we succeed in this industry
OUR MODEL are built on the concept of EARNING WHILE YOU’RE LEARNING. Get in, get your hands dirty and get moving. Make mistakes along the way, adjust as you go and build. GET COMFORTABLE not knowing what you’re doing, NOT HAVING ALL THE ANSWERS.
And, what the leader does duplicates so if the leader is stuck in perfectionism, they are likely creating an organization that is stuck in it too which SLOWS everybody down.
It’s time to GET COMFORTABLE being uncomfortable and doing what you don’t feel like you’re ready to do.
Accept the fact, that we learn by doing things poorly. And more importantly, action leads to clarity. So roll up your sleeves and let’s start embracing the idea that good, is good enough.
Brene Brown says that perfectionism is a self destructive believe system that fuels the primary thought; if I look perfect, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgement and blame.
So, how in the world can you figure out if this is something that is holding you back and your organization?
Check out this list and circle, check, underline all that apply to YOU.
Hyper Critical of Mistakes
You have to be the best
Massive amount of time spent on perfecting things, even at the cost of your own well-being
You live in black and white; no gray
You are your harshest critic
You mull over outcomes
Defensive towards criticism
Only care about the end goal
All or nothing approach
Scared of things that make you look less than perfect
Okay, how’d you do?
If you relate to more than THREE you my friend are struggling with PERFECTIONISM and have some work to do to scrub it out!
So, let’s talk about some ways you can break the chains of perfectionism and say adios to this paralyzing habit for good.
Here are my TOP seven tips to help you ditch PERFECTIONISM for good.
Appreciate the process. Focus on the journey, not just the results. Appreciate aspects from both the journey and the results rather than one or the other. And remember that if you get too caught up in results you likely will never find satisfaction. As entrepreneurs, we have to learn to embrace the process as well as the goal to experience TRUE satisfaction.
Stop comparing. Set yourself free from the comparison game. We live for an audience of ONE and that is our ALL MIGHTY GOD, not the opinions of others. When God created you, he had a unique, specific purpose in mind JUST FOR YOU. You’re the only one that can fulfill the role, so get busy getting busy. Looking over your shoulder at what others are doing, can distract you from your journey, your road, your unique destiny.
Mess up on purpose. If you are constantly worried about failing or falling short of your perfect standard, try the opposite. Mess up on purpose. It’s healthy. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable and take the PRESSURE to PERFORM off.
Play it out. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” Seriously! What is the worst that can happen if what you are trying to achieve isn’t perfect? Are you going to die? Are you going to be shunned from society? Will your friends abandon you? If the answers to those questions are NO, you’re in good shape. Most of us are our own worst critics so you’re probably the ONLY one that would even know where the shortcomings are. And if anyone cares THAT much about your accomplishments or shortcomings, they have TOO much time on their hands?
So relax and play it out. Ask yourself what would happen if you didn’t reach your impossible standard. Answer honestly. And hopefully you will see that if you don’t reach that bar, your life will still continue on its beautiful and unique path.
Become friends with “good enough.” When we become friends with “good enough”, we can relax, let go of the pressure and finish more projects. Things will be easier. And you know what? You probably won’t even notice a huge difference. They say that people who put in 20% of the effort reap 80% of the results. And guess what? The people who put in the extra 80% of the effort (giving the “perfect” 100%) only reap the remaining 20% of the results. Become friends with “good enough.” She won’t let you down. And maybe you can spend that extra 80% you save on pursuing that new passion you’ve been dreaming about.
Gain perspective. Give it the FIVE year test. In FIVE years will any of it matter? Be honest. Seriously. Be really honest. If the answer is no, then good is good enough my friend!
If it’s a ‘yes,’ ok fine, let’s talk. Maybe you need to put in extra effort this week. Bump it all the way up to 80%. I get it. But if not, it might be time to put the pen down and let it go. Memories aren’t made by perfectionism. Focus on what makes you happy, because that’s what you’ll likely remember.
Create realistic goals and expectations. Time to create YOUR goals, and the goals that will set your soul on fire and be unique to you. It’s also very smart to have in-check expectations. Talk it out. Understand what it is that you are reaching for, and forgive yourself if the picture in your head doesn’t play out in real life. To be honest, it hardly ever does. But we are resilient, and we were designed for adaptation.
We don’t break if things don’t go the exact way we planned – in fact sometimes it works out even better. So give yourself grace when it comes to expectations. Don’t break over unmet goals, work with them. Tweak them. And keep going. Overall, if you can balance realistic goal setting, focused effort, and adaptable results, that is the key for any kind of success.
So there you go. If I can ditch PERFECTIONISM so can you. First you have to recognize it, then work at eliminating it by practicing the list above. I know you can do it and I can’t wait to see how YOU put an end to your own PERFECTIONISM and help your organization do the same.
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Question of the week: Can you learn to accept that good enough IS good enough?