Act on Imperfection

 

"An imperfect something is better than a perfect nothing."

~ Sylvia Henderson

 

The above words flowed from my mouth during an Idea Blueprint(c) Program coaching session with a client. We were both astounded at the brilliance of the message. I say this not for my ego; I declare brilliance for what it means in terms of acting on your ideas.

A problem that many of my clients and students claim stops them from taking action is that they feel the need to "tweak" their strategies or plans until they are perfect. Only when they feel they've "got things just right" can they begin to implement their ideas. In getting things just right, their ideas stagnate. Real progress = zero.

When you find yourself stuck on perfect, let perfect go. Yes, you want quality and professionalism. Yes, you want favorable conditions, good resources, and strategies in place as you start taking action on your ideas. Yet, you can take action while you work out remaining issues, and move forward while some uncertainty still remains to be worked out. Initial actions may even yield lessons that serve you well for making strategy corrections that, had you waited to act until everything was perfect, you might have learned too late.

If you're stuck on perfect, take a deep breath in, hold for a few seconds, then slowly release your breath while saying to yourself, "An imperfect something is better than a perfect nothing". Then make something happen!