Are you putting pressure on yourself to produce perfect results?

If so, you’re not alone. Many of us struggle with perfectionism, and it can hold us back from achieving our goals.

I know this from personal experience. I set a goal at the start of the year to complete a specific project. The project wasn’t big, but I still couldn’t seem to get started. I kept putting it off, telling myself that I needed to wait until I had the perfect plan.

But then, in May, I had an epiphany. I realised that my perfectionism was actually paralysing me. I was so afraid of making mistakes that I was afraid to take any action at all. So, I made a decision to embrace imperfect action. I decided that I would just start working on the project, even if I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. And guess what? It worked! I started making progress, and my joy and excitement came back. I wasn’t putting pressure on myself to be perfect, so I was able to relax and enjoy the process.

This week, I finished the project, and I’m more than happy with the result. I’m so glad that I decided to embrace imperfect action.

We all want to be perfect. We want to do everything right, make no mistakes, and always look our best. But the truth is, perfection is impossible. There will always be things we can do better, and there will always be people who are better than us at something.

So what do we do? Do we give up and settle for mediocrity? Or do we embrace imperfection and use it as an opportunity to grow and learn?

I believe that the latter is the better option. Embracing imperfection can actually help us build confidence, give things a go, and beat procrastination.

How Embracing Imperfect Action Can Build Confidence

When we’re constantly striving for perfection, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. We’re always going to be disappointed in ourselves, because we’ll never be able to achieve the impossible.

But when we embrace imperfection, we’re free to take risks and try new things. We’re not afraid to make mistakes, because we know that everyone makes mistakes. And when we do make mistakes, we learn from them and get better.

This process of learning and growing can actually help us build confidence. We start to realize that we’re capable of more than we thought, and we become more comfortable with ourselves and our abilities.

Craig Groeschel in a recent podcast talked about how choosing to fail actively (by doing something and possibly not succeeding) rather than failing passively (by not doing something at all). Wow! Choosing to take action regardless of whether I ‘fail’ or not is a powerful mindset shift.

How Embracing Imperfect Action Can Help You Give Things a Go

Perfectionism can also hold us back from taking action. We’re afraid of failing, so we don’t even try. But when we embrace imperfection, we’re more likely to give things a go, and more willing to put in the effort and see what happens. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to succeed.

How Embracing Imperfect Action Can Beat Procrastination

Procrastination is often rooted in fear of failure. We’re afraid of not being good enough, so we put things off until later. But when we embrace imperfection, we can avoid the kind of procrastination that comes from the fear of failure.

Once we know that it’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them, we can break the procrastination cycle and start taking action.

So, how do you embrace imperfect action?

Here are a few tips:

• Start small. Don’t try to do everything perfectly all at once. Start with small, achievable goals.
• Be patient. It takes time to build confidence and overcome procrastination. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results overnight.
• Celebrate your successes. No matter how small, take the time to celebrate your successes. This will help you build momentum and keep moving forward.

Embracing imperfect action is a powerful way to build confidence, give things a go, and stop procrastinating. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about taking action and learning from your mistakes.

So next time you’re feeling stuck, remember that it’s okay to embrace imperfect action. Just take a step forward and see what happens.