Nobody is perfect. You have probably heard that before. I hear it at least a dozen times a day before even getting out of bed. Sometimes I’ll even grab my phone and have random numbers text me that something I did wasn’t right. Being a perfectionist is good and all in theory. There are definitely benefits to doing things perfectly. Was there anything more rewarding in the 1990s than winning in Mortal Kombat with a flawless victory?

Out of my many goals in life, being a perfectionist isn’t one of them. Quite honestly, it’s a big relief to take it off my plate.

Why being a perfectionist isn’t so perfect after all

I’m probably not the best person to offer advice when it comes to doing things with the greatest of efforts. Please don’t stop reading.

I try hard. I’ll give my best effort. I also won’t spend too much time trying to perfect something that, in the great words of Chester Bennington, in the end doesn’t even matter.

Is a Starbucks cup in an episode of Game of Thrones going to ruin the whole lore of the series? No! A bad finale does that. What about a typo on a major news story? Chances are the editor just needed to get paid a little more to care about the job they’re doing.

Striving for perfection is futile. It only sets you up to come up short. Rather than be a perfectionist, I recommend giving it your best effort and moving on as quickly as possible.

There are obvious exceptions to this. In certain moments, you do want perfection. Imagine if you applied to college with an essay and only handed in the rough draft. Those hours of you typing “boobs” over and over again just to keep your fingers warm might have prevented you from getting into your dream university.

Being a perfectionist works at certain moments. In others, it’s not so necessary. It can be a setback and time waster. The goal should be to determine when you should review and improve things and when it’s better to be satisfied with the imperfections.

A blog post doesn’t need to be perfect. It can always be updated. Who really cares?

An airplane, on the other hand, better not have a single flaw.

Nobody was born asking to be what we consider a perfectionist. It must be tiring to want to be perfect all of the time. I wouldn’t know. I’m full of errors and that’s fine. I don’t even have a good ending for this blog post.

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The book that convinced us to start investing and being more proactive with our money and lives: The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias

The gear we use to make our YouTube videos at the Practically Humans YouTube Channel

• Sony ZVE10 Camera
• Sony Retractable Zoom Lens
• MOVO Shotgun Microphone
• Audio Cable
• Memory Card
• RGB Lights
• Studio Light

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