Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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August 24, 2008

Does It Have To Be Perfect?

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 6:07 am

Beach Notes by Guest Writer Suzie Cheel

gday logo

On our beach walk on Saturday,
I asked Des this question.

Do you sometimes wonder why
you aren’t meeting the goals
you have set yourself and
may have even announced to the world?

Do you get satisfaction from ticking off your daily to do list or do you wonder what happened to the day? Maybe you have have even stopped making a to do list!

If you have fallen down on some of these things I know how you feel.

I looked at my life over the past week and asked “Hey what is going on here?”

I listened to that small inner voice, my intuition. I noticed how my tummy felt.

The answers came. I am great at getting clarity about where I am heading. Even better at setting big hairy goals.

What I haven’t been doing is following through on the tasks that need to done on the way to goals.

I also see my overachiever, Wonder Woman streak is coming out. Wonder Woman needs a holiday while I get on with business.

Putting that another way I have to accept the fact that not everything I do can be perfect the first or even the second time.

What’s wrong with edition 1, then a revised edition 2?

We could all learn from some of the big guns. Take Microsoft, they have made their fortune with getting people to buy version 1.0, then 1.1 while they iron out the bugs.

Do you ever experience the “it’s not perfect” roadblock? What do you do about it?





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5 Comments to “Does It Have To Be Perfect?”

  1. August 24th, 2008 at 8:14 am
    Chrissy S. said

    Wow…almost scary about the timing of this post. My answer: a resounding YES. I do feel this way! I am a compulsive planner and just this morning I woke up and realized the year is more than half over! Reviewing my goals for 2008, I feel completely bummed out. I like the idea of focusing on “edition 1″ and then working on revisions in “edition 2.” It’s definitely time to get down to business and put Wonder Woman aside. Thanks for the post. I don’t feel so alone now!

  2. August 24th, 2008 at 8:46 am
    Malcolm Campbell said

    Perfectionism’s a problem, to be sure. Some people hold back on submitting their work–and keep revising it–because they actually lack the confidence to commit to sending it in.

    Others keep revising because those who have “made it,” paint such a bleak picture about the odds of a publisher or agent accepting anything, that perfectionism takes over while the prospective author assumes the material will never be quite good enough to get past the first reader at the publishing house.

    It’s a puzzlement.

    Malcolm

  3. August 24th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
    ZaLee said

    I do experience the “it’s not perfect” roadblock. But finally i think it’s good to do ‘better’ than the ‘perfect’ mentality.

  4. August 24th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
    Annette Pedersen said

    And some people think all the ducks have to be in a row - like clearing fear and doubts BEFORE taking any action! That could take years!
    I completely agree with revision. You cannot have all the answers to a great or ‘perfect’ edition until you have feedback from those you are trying to reach - and we’re not mind-readers! The inspiration others get from real people like you is to see that it can be done without automatic ‘perfection’!
    ‘Perfection’ like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

  5. August 24th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
    Suzie Cheel said

    @Chrissy

    That was synchronicity at work!I love it when what I write resonates with someone else. It is good to know we are not alone. I think a lot of women suffer from WW syndrome:)

    @ Malcolm

    I love “puzzlement” and it is a noun! The state of being confused or baffled; perplexity.

    yes the it has to be perfect could be put into that category!

    @Zalee You are not alone on the roadblock stakes. Doing better maybe works, or I am doing my best.
    This could start another discussion.

    To use the word in another sense: Have perfect day. It all depends what emphasis we put on the word and how and when we use it.

    Walking on the beach, looking to the horizon with the sun shining to me is perfect:)

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