I’m a recovering perfectionist.

No…for real.

Have you ever taken the Enneagram personality type test? There are nine different types, and when you know yours, it can be a super helpful way to understand yourself better and what motivates you. If you’re curious, read more about it in this Forbes article.

Well, I’m type number one.

The “One” on the Enneagram goes by several names – The Reformer, The Improver, The Assessor – but the name it is most commonly known as is “The Perfectionist.”

It’s safe to say that I know a thing or two about perfectionism. I’m here to tell you it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

But perfect is perfect, right? Sounds pretty great to me.

Yeah, the heart of perfectionism isn’t all bad. It’s about being/wanting:

Precise
Accurate
Detail-oriented
Someone with high standards
To do something the best
To try and prevent errors or mistakes

The problem is perfectionism takes all of these great values that embody greatness and excellence – and then takes a hard left turn.

Perfectionism is a thief.

Perfection kills creativity, stalls out inspiration, slows you down to a crawl, and puts you in bubble wrap. (Tweet it)

It tells you this lie that you can’t ship it until it is perfect.

So you keep analyzing, modifying, researching, and re-working. Or worse, you never start because the main course of “getting yourself ready to create perfection” goes really well with a side of procrastination.

In the meantime, you might get jaded, short-tempered, and not be very fun to be around.

The thing is – what you are working on will never be perfect.

Life is imperfect. We have to dance with it. I’m not saying cut corners or half-ass it. I’m saying go hard, give it what you got, then give it some more, and then ship the damn thing. Don’t overthink it. Don’t be afraid that it isn’t going to be perfect, because it’s not. It’s not even supposed to be.

We don’t want your perfection. We want your imprint on this world. We want your “Carl-ness.”

Over the years, I’ve gathered some of my favorite thoughts on perfectionism to help me in my continued recovery effort, and now I’m sharing them with you in hopes that wherever you land on the “struggle with perfectionism” scale these help you in some way like they have for me.

Quotes, Themes, Mantras and Thoughts on Perfectionism

“Meet spec, then ship it” - Seth Godin
“If you have an idea you’re excited about and you don’t bring it to life, it’s not uncommon for the idea to find its voice through another maker. This isn’t because the other artist stole your idea, but because the idea’s time has come.” - Rick Rubin, The Creative Act
My take: Don’t let perfectionism kill the idea you are excited about. Time is fleeting and so is your opportunity.
“Momentum is messy.” - John Acuff, Soundtracks
My take: Momentum is what we are searching for. Momentum creates opportunity. Momentum rocks the boat a bit. Follow it.
“Progress over perfection” - Kevin Hart, The Decision
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” - John Steinbeck, East of Eden
Don’t let the pursuit of perfect kill great. You’ll be left with neither.
“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.” - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
“The best way to get good at something is to do it a lot. Iterate it. Get the repetitions in.” - Idea from James Clear, Atomic Habits

My take: If you want to get better at something then do it. Don’t stress about being perfect, instead act on it. You’ll never make it to “perfect,” but you can get closer to “perfect” (like an asymptote) the more you do the “thing.” You want to be a writer, then write. You want to be a runner, then run. You want to be a chef, then cook. Do it, don’t wait for perfection to show up. It doesn’t work that way.

The truth is I’ve never compiled all of these into one list until today, and now I plan to refer back to it often! :)

Here’s to messing up, making mistakes, and being imperfect.

Cheers!