This morning my friend Janet and I went to the local Apple store.  I’ve been a closet Mac lover for years.  I wander into the store, play with them, and convince myself that it’s too much of a learning curve.  You see, I was a victim to my own ”what if I don’t get it” trap.  Today I saw how subtly the need to be perfect was holding me back.  Trouble is, needing to be perfect kept me from choosing a Mac, simply because I knew how to use a PC reasonably well. 

I’d forgotten to trust my own inner guidance and so did nothing except to listen to the “experts.”  Unfortunately the experts frequently have conflicting opinions.  The result: analysis paralysis.  Our comfort zone (paralysis) becomes terminal all too quickly.  We want to move forward, but hold ourselves back because that comfort zone gives us the illusion of safety.  It also keeps us from flowing with change. 

After our foray into Apple Country, we lingered over a luscious breakfast.  Janet vented her frustration at feeling betrayed by the folks she hired to help her get a web presence.  Hundreds of dollars later, she had an e-zine that cost a fortune every time she wanted to send it out.  Worse yet, she had a domain name, a hosting service, and no website!

We were both suffering from perfection-itis and inertia.  I told her it didn’t have to be perfect; her website/blog/e-zine just had to be done.  She’d helped me move through the Mac dilemma, and I in turn was able to tell her how to get a blog up and running right away.  Knowledge was power for both of us.  Knowledge plus action creates immense power.

Have you ever been caught by the not knowing how to do something trap?  We all have.  I didn’t change computer systems because I felt incompetent – not perfect – unable to weigh the pros and cons and wisely choose what I wanted.  She was held hostage because of her fear that her e-zine, blog or website wouldn’t be perfect unless it was done “the way it should be.” That is a huge illusion, since we learn by doing.  If everyone waited to be perfect then inventors would never invent.

The need to do something perfectly is one of the oldest traps that individuals and business’s fall into.  As children, sooner or later we are humiliated because we don’t do something perfectly by someone else’s standards. That experience sets us up with the “I need to do it perfectly” belief.  Thank goodness the cure is action.  Today both Janet and I took risks and actions.  A new Mac and a new blog are just weeks away. 

What do you need to get done right now?  Chances are it doesn’t have to be perfect.  It just has to be done.  Do your homework and make your most intelligent decision.  Feedback from your environment will help you course correct because you will find out what works and what doesn’t work.  Feedback will also help you to continue improving and expanding your competency.

Keep me posted about your breakthroughs. Now get ready, get set, get going!