Three ways to overcome the perception of perfection.

In this post, you will:

• Learn how the pursuit of perfection can lead to procrastination.

• Discover three ways to overcome perfection and procrastination.

Many people who battle with procrastination have a subtle enemy that has rigged the game to be against them. This subtle enemy is the fear of failure that springs from the need to be perfect. In their book Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now Jane Burka, and Lenora M. Yuen write that people who have a desire to be perfect equates their value based on their perceived performance in tasks and goals. The fear of not living up to the standard that they set paralyzes them to not even try, because they are convinced that it will never be good enough so why bother, because I am not good enough. This, the second instalment of our series on procrastination, will give you tools to uncover and dismantle the illusion that your value as a person equates to your performance.

Three ways to overcome the perception of perfection.

The gift of the journey

One of the most powerful gifts that you can give yourself is the gift of journey. This simply means that you shift your focus from only celebrating the finished result to celebrating the journey and progress you make. To illustrate this point, we look to the world of cross country running. Cross country was my bread and butter when I was at school, and if I may say so myself, I was pretty good at it. I won multiple races locally and provincially. The key, however, was not enjoying winning but enjoying running, winning was a byproduct of my passion. I ran every day in the heat, cold and rain trying to improve my time by a second here and there. These incremental steps prepared me for race day and stepping up on the podium. The progress in the journey of everyday was the actual victory not the moment of receiving the medal. Giving yourself the gift of the journey will set you free to enjoy the process and small steps of progress you make in the moment, taking away the pressure of the perfect result.

Don’t rob the world by chasing illusions.

Equating your value as a person with producing perfection is the ultimate illusion that robs those around you of the value that you can bring to the world. I meet a lot of people who do not even step up to try because of a perceived idea that others are better. Comparing ourselves to others does not only devalue us but also devalues people around us. Our gifts and talents, I believe, are there to bless people around us glorifying God who gave these gifts. The truth of the perfection illusion is that we will never be good enough because the illusion will always move away from us like the end of a rainbow.

Letting go of pride.

Most people would be able to tell you that from a Christian belief system we as humans have value because God has given us value. The reality is that many of the same people still struggle to believe that they have value. I believe that this is because they cannot let go of their pride. Pride is being so absorbed by our own estimation, ability or self that we cannot submit to what God says. This is why self-righteousness and pride are linked, our conviction of saving self, makes it impossible to accept the grace of God. Within our context of equating our value with perfection we are so convinced that we do not have worth that we pride ourselves in it. Letting go of pride accepts that God has placed value in us to uncover and not to achieve.

Coach U

This week, I want to challenge you to become a treasure hunter of value and worth apart from performance. Start by making a list of where you see value in yourself. Then go to at least 20 people and ask them what value they see in you. Every time you uncover something, take time in prayer to reflect on the value God has given you and how you can use it to glorify God.

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