Survive the perfection phobia: Learn from content creators
You've probably encountered someone who was unable to be able to finish their project due to the fact that they believed every element needed to be perfect. But, perfection doesn't exist (truly). As a result, your work is left to sit unfinished in their computers or their studio. It is possible that some would consider it a waste of time since no one ever gets to enjoy what the creator created.
The tendency to be perfect can prove to be a huge blocker for creators and entrepreneurs. Based on a study by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, perfectionism can be linked with "feelings of failure, guilt and indecision, as well as procrastination, shame, and lower self-esteem." As a result, people struggle to move forward with the work or task - it is known as perfection paralysis.
However, how can you overcome this?
Letting go of perfectionism and revising to a more realistic standard of when something can be released for public consumption can be a difficult task. In order to help you achieve this We invited two experienced experts to share their journey to overcome the fear of perfection during a virtual summit in August of 2022. You can watch the session on YouTube:
Before we begin to dive into the tricks, we'll meet our presenters:
Steve Harris is a global business coach that helps high-performing organisations and individuals to overcome the gaps between their potential and performance. The self-described "ruthless" He has been working with more than 1,000 clients, pushing them to put in the work and achieve stellar results.
Grace Abbott is a multi-hyphenate creative strategist and brand builder that specializes in growing companies at the intersection of commerce and content. The last five years of her career have been devoted to creating To Be Magnetic - turning the once-healthy blog into a rapidly growing membership site - the most popular site for Neural manifestation.
The responses have been edited to ensure the utmost clarity.
Why do people get too caught up in perfection?
What are your strategies to overcome perfectionism?
Digital items don't need be perfect, however, they still need to reach the required level of quality for them to make a profit. How can a creator reset their expectations to the standard of excellence that's going to serve their business and brand?
Grace states:
"Consider the impact of your logo on the level of content and education that you're going to release? Does it tell a compelling story about what you have to offer? And then of course you need to ensure that when you're making a copy edit, that you have high-quality video and audio. All those things that are likely to help make the user experience as top-quality as it can be.
However, I believe that more than anything, just going at it. It doesn't require an expensive production crew to create an outstanding video. It's possible to shoot something great on your iPhone. Make sure there's nothing in the background and that the audio quality is excellent.
What is the first action a creator of knowledge can make to create their first digital product?
Steve says:
"I find that a lot of entrepreneurs get caught up with their message and they're not looking at the market. It is important to ask yourself: can there be a market for my message? Then, how can you determine if there is a market for your message?
It's quite simple to ask certain questions like:
- What's the challenge that my words or passion can solve?
- Who is the person who has the issue and needs this solution?
- What are the folks you're obligated to serve?
- How are you going to discover these?
- What will they do to find you?
- What amount of money are they able to spend?
- What is the reason anyone should come to you instead of the millions of options which are available?