done is better than perfect

We make 35,000 decisions, on average, every day. And I don’t know about you, but I used to find all of those decisions exhausting. Sometimes they can still bog me down. Especially all the little ones.

And as a recovering perfectionist, each decision used to come with extra weight. Would I make the “right” decision? What would other people think? What if it didn’t go to plan?

With all this pressure, we just keep putting off the projects on our to do list. We want to paint our bathroom or laundry room but picking the color is too daunting. Or maybe we want to start a blog but the idea of having to make each post perfect keeps us from moving forward with it. Or maybe, you’re like me this month and you have something you need to do (like write this email) but you haven’t sat down to do it because you want to make sure it adds value (or it’s worth reading).

But I’ll let you in on one of my new favorite mantras –
Done is better than perfect.

If the pressure to make it “perfect” keeps us from doing the thing, we might never actually do it. We don’t get to use our voice in an email or on a blog. Our laundry room stays how it is (and I’m sure that’s fine) but maybe we’re missing that laundry oasis feeling we wanted.

So can we just decide already? Why do we have to put ourselves through so much angst and anxiety when making decisions? Is it worth it? By stressing, do we add anything to our experience?

No. We just put off the decision and moving forward. And maybe we choose a different color or topic or whatever than we would have in the beginning, but does that really matter? Is there really a "right" decision?

Again, no. Every step is a step in the right direction. And perfection is something that can only stress us out. Striving for it only leaves us searching for external validation, anxious or worst case, feeling unworthy.

And can’t you always change it? These little decisions, we can always change. That color in your laundry room, if you hate it, just change it. That topic that you chose for your blog – pivot when it feels good.

By choosing to be stuck in this indecision place, we not only waste time and energy but we build up the importance of the task in our mind. Which only makes us more hesitant to pick.

So let’s just decide already 😊 And remember that done is better than perfect.

If you’re having trouble making a decision, but you go for it anyway because done is better than perfect, let me know. I’d love to cheer you on.