Happy new month…and the year goes March-ing on! I have no idea where the year has gone because if you were to ask me, I would have said that we just said “Happy New Year” the other day. Here we are on the third month, the end of Q1 for some and a little closer to the Easter holidays for others. A welcome break or transition to the next period while asking obvious questions like; “So, what have I done so far this year?” Companies and entrepreneurs often do this when doing a stock take- just to ensure that the business is running as it should. Even at a personal level, I am sure that we ask ourselves this no matter how small or big our resolution may have been at the start of the year. Then again, this may not be for everyone as I know goals can be set yearly or a rolling one for different people. No matter the goal, we just have to track whether our resolve, discipline and routine are paying off.
One of the things that a business will often look at in terms of performance is how much money they are making and how much demand there is out there. This will often be in comparison with past performance as well as compared to the competitors. Even though I am not a company or own one, I find myself far too often falling into the pit of the latter; comparing myself with others on how I am doing and how I should be doing better. Despite knowing that experiences and situations are unique and cannot be the same, this is a trap many fall into. The result? Well, working to perfect my ways so that I’m not slacking and on track like so and so. After all, whatever I have planned has to work out at all costs!
The key to reaching your end goal is to take action, it’s as simple as that. Once you have started working on that business, going to the gym, applying for those jobs or building new friendships, you have made some headway. As we start, it’s easy to get caught up in the desire to achieve perfection, but perfection isn’t always necessary. Instead, focus on making progress and taking steps towards your aspirations. Remember that even small steps can lead to significant progress and that the journey of 1000 miles towards your goal can be just as important as the destination itself. At the start of the year, I determined to be consistent in blogging which has meant more reading is needed. On my third book for the year and hoping to keep the fire burning. Keep doing what you set out to do, taking action, course correcting and moving forward.
“Progress not perfection… you can’t be perfect everything… but you can gain progress on a daily basis.”
Court McGee
They say ‘Practice makes perfect’ but don’t let that desire for perfection hold you back. There are moments in life where putting in extra effort and striving for perfection may not always be necessary. Instead of focusing on producing exceptional work, it may be more worthwhile to prioritize completing the task at hand satisfactorily and allocate time to more critical matters. In such situations, recognize that time is a valuable resource that would be the key to the success of what you are working on. For example, I may want to hit a specific weight goal or personal running record like someone else but I just can’t seem to get there. Though in all my attempts, I am improving and doing better than before. Feeling that need to compete against another all the time to attain a perfect score may not be all that it’s wrapped up to be if at the stake of your health. When all is said and done, you give your best and complete it then on to the next challenge!
Fighting fear over embracing perfection is more of what we should do. I recall my primary school days not wanting to submit compositions to the teacher because I feared the marks I would get. You see I wasn’t too confident of my grasp of the language let alone creative writing, in English or Kiswahili for that matter. I guess at some point it dawned on me that I would never learn the subject well without allowing the teacher’s remarks (and red biro pen all over the foolscap) to correct me. If I held on for the right moment and time when I’d mastered every word, sentence and paragraph then I probably would never have learnt sooner than I did. Even now, with each piece that I write, I can’t attest to being the best wordsmith but a few ideas put together on paper allow me to create something worth the read every other week. I am sure that even the most successful people have aspects of their work that they wish they could do better. And that’s okay because no innovation or new idea will be discovered by accident but through a desire for growth and making progress with what you have. Fight the fear to act, embrace the ongoing process and keep pushing forward towards those goals.
If anything, March is going to see me trying to let go of the preconceived notions of how things should be done and when they should be done. For instance, something as simple as cleaning the house used to be such a drag and a huge chore. If you’re like me (but I trust you are hardworking and super clean) you could spend more time on that couch thinking about what you need to do rather than actually doing them because after all there’s always tomorrow, right? Who is going to make sure that the whole house is clean? In the end, I broke down the chores into smaller tasks to be done on different days or times that way I don’t have to handle one major chore at a go. This method may not be perfect, but it does get me off thinking about cleaning and actually doing it. This same mindset can be applied to any work or studying that you may be procrastinating. If you’ve been putting off that business proposal, application or essay, just start writing it, even if it’s disorganized or doesn’t make sense. Break it down into what is manageable and get on it. Everyone has to start somewhere. Remember, done is better than perfect and in the day we hope it will be good and done.
“The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake. You can’t learn anything from being perfect.”
Adam Osbourne
Tonerre's Word 