A Tale of Two Mindsets: Progress vs. Perfection

Here at Live Intentionally I often talk about the importance of taking small steps.

I believe in the value of slow, steady progress toward a better, happier you and a more intentional, productive life. I believe in the power of consistently taking small steps in a positive direction—that over time those small steps will add up to worthwhile results.

Unfortunately there are many attitudes and unhelpful beliefs that hinder our ability to make progress. One of the worst?

Perfectionism

Perfectionism masquerades as a noble ideal—the pursuit of excellence. Instead, it is a bondage that holds us to impossible standards. As a result, perfectionism hinders progress, limits growth, and leaves us dissatisfied with life and disappointed in ourselves.

In contrast, a mindset that accepts we are less-than-perfect and focuses on small improvements breeds confidence and success.

Here are seven areas where slow, steady steps lead to progress while perfectionism does not.

Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.

Attributed to Plato

Self-esteem

A perfectionist mindset leads to low self-esteem, because we will never attain the impossible standard of perfection. When we take note of every time we do better than last time, we boost our self-esteem. When we give ourselves credit for how far we’ve come instead of beating ourselves up for not reaching perfection, we are much happier with the results of our efforts (even though the results are the same in both cases).

How we view success

Perfectionism fosters an all-or-nothing definition of success. Anything less than perfect is deemed a failure. In contrast, a small-steps mindset defines success as improvement over the past. It sees each small step forward as a success. Perfectionism views a 98% on a test as not good enough. In contrast, a growth mindset would view a 71% as success if was an improvement over past results.

Our ability to grow

If anything less than perfect is deemed a failure, then anytime we try something new we are sure to fail. Therefore, perfectionism makes us reluctant to try something new or take on a challenge we aren’t confident we can ace. Yet personal growth only comes when we accept challenges that push us past our current abilities.

A perfectionist mindset believes the myth that humans can try a new skill and be instantly an expert. A progress mindset is more realistic. It accepts that learning new things will result in beginner-quality work and rookie mistakes.

Focus

A perfectionist mindset only sees what is less than perfect, therefore it focuses exclusively on the negative.  A progress mindset is aware of what is not yet perfect, but it focuses on the positives that have been achieved. Thus perfectionism leads to disillusionment and frustration while a focus on small, positive changes leads to hope and satisfaction.

Efficiency

Perfection demands fussing with the teeniest details to get everything just right. Perfectionists waste a lot of time fixating over unimportant details, and a lot of energy worrying that their efforts will be unacceptable because they are less-than-perfect. Successful people know when to deem something good enough and move on to the next important project. They have learned to discern the difference between critical details and non-critical details, thus they don’t waste energy over the non-essentials when there are other things to do.

Motivation to persevere

Perfectionism does not encourage perseverance. If we aren’t perfect, and we will never be perfect, why keep trying? Thus it becomes safer to quit than to persevere through years of intermediate-level work. In contrast, a focus on slow-but-steady progress encourages us to keep chugging along. When we get discouraged we can look back on progress rather than fixating only on our lack of reaching the ultimate ideal.    

Courage to take strategic risks

Since perfectionism views failure as something to be avoided at all costs, perfectionists avoid taking any risk that might end in failure. Better to play it safe and look good than to take a risk, mess up, and look foolish. In contrast, a progress mindset sees failure as a natural byproduct of pushing the boundaries. They know that a single failure does not spell disaster. Failure is merely a setback. Failure teaches us what doesn’t work, or where we need to hone our skills.

When we were teaching our kids to ski, my husband would tell them, “If you never fall, you aren’t getting better.” Perfectionists are afraid to fall, but the result is they’ll always be stuck on the beginner slopes instead of whooping in terrified exhilaration while going airborne over a mogul. Sometimes the fall is worth the risk.

Final thoughts

I hope I have encouraged you to give yourself (and others) permission to be less-than-perfect and to honor small steps of progress.

I leave you with this quote to inspire you in making small steps today.