As an embroidery business owner, you want to offer great products to your customers and have a business that you are proud of, but do you sometimes let perfectionism get in your way of reaching your goals?
Almost all of us strive to do the best job that we can, set our goals and work hard to reach them by maintaining high standards. But perfectionism isn’t about any of this. Perfectionism is a long, maddening drive down a never-ending road for flawlessness; it provides no rest stops for mistakes or personal limitations or even the changing of minds.
I know myself I have fallen into the trap of trying to be perfect far too many times and I always wonder why my son has such an issue with it. He is not happy if every design is not exactly perfect and in his mind, they never are!
Here are 9 ways to tell if you fall into that same trap of being a perfectionist!
- I never do anything halfway; it‚’s all or nothing for me. Every time!
- I believe there‚’s a certain way to do things and they should always be done that way.
- I get angry or defensive when I make mistakes. I hate to make them
- I often procrastinate on starting projects. I seldom meet deadlines. Or if I do, I kill myself meeting them.
- No matter how much I have done, there‚’s always more to be done.
- I believe it is possible to do something perfectly and if I keep at it on enough, I know I can get it perfect.
- I don‚’t delegate often enough and when I do, I always double-check to make sure the job is done right. It never is.
- I feel humiliated when things aren’t perfect.
- I don‚’t like to admit not knowing how to do something or to being a beginner. If I can‚’t do something well, I won‚’t do it.
None of us are perfect, we are all humans that make mistakes and in many cases work constantly toward the goal of being perfect. This is an impossible goal to strive for and we need to let up on ourselves and come to the conclusion that good is good enough! I have been told this over and over by my business coaches and it has been a very hard concept for me to grasp.
It does not mean that you are to be haphazard in your work or that you should not constantly be striving to be better, it just means that we need to be a little more realistic and stop expecting so much from ourselves especially if you are new to embroidery.
Perfectionism can cause anxiety, fears, and self-doubt; it stifles your creativity, and puts stumbling blocks in the way of our friendships and all of our personal relationships. It can also create or aggravate illnesses, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders and substance abuse.
There is a difference between excellence and perfection. Striving to be really good is excellence; trying to be flawless is perfectionism. Becoming flawless is impossible!
Strive each day to learn something new, work towards improving the quality of your products, offer the best customer service that you can possibly offer and start taking time to enjoy life! Stop letting perfectionism get in your way of accomplishing your goals! Just be great and above all, be happy!