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Your Next Chapter
The Story Behind Perfectionism
There’s a funny thing about perfectionism.
It often looks like a strength.
“I just have high standards.”
“I want to do it right.”
“I’m not ready yet.”
“I need to work on it a little more.”
Sounds responsible, doesn’t it?
Until you notice what perfectionism is actually doing.
Keeping the book unwritten.
Keeping the product unlaunched.
Keeping the conversation unspoken.
Keeping the decision unmade.
Keeping you safely stuck.
That’s what we explored on this week’s Story & Strategy LIVE:
The Story Behind Perfectionism.
And like so many of the challenges we’ve explored on the show...
The real problem wasn’t perfectionism.
It was the story underneath it.
The Story
Perfectionism usually comes with a hidden promise:
“If I can get this exactly right, I’ll be safe.”
Safe from criticism.
Safe from embarrassment.
Safe from rejection.
Safe from somebody discovering that maybe we don’t have it all together.
And somewhere along the way, that strategy may have worked.
Maybe getting things right got you praise.
Maybe making a mistake got you criticism.
Maybe somebody expected more from you than you knew how to give.
Maybe you learned that being impressive was safer than being imperfect.
And so a strategy became a story:
I have to get it right.
Then the story quietly became a rule:
I can’t move until I know I can get it right.
That’s where perfectionism gets expensive.
Because now it’s not helping you do excellent work.
It’s keeping you from doing the work at all.
There’s a huge difference between:
“I want to do this well.”
and
“I cannot do this until I know it will go well.”
One creates excellence.
The other creates paralysis.
And that brings us back to what we say every week:
Every challenge has a story.
Every story can be rewritten.
Every rewritten story changes your future.
The Strategy
So how do you begin rewriting the story behind perfectionism?
Start by catching the sentence.
When you find yourself waiting, tweaking, preparing, researching, fixing or putting something off...
Ask:
What would have to be true before I would finally let myself move?
Listen for the answer.
“I need to know more.”
“It needs to be better.”
“I don’t want anyone to think...”
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“What if I get it wrong?”
There’s your story.
Now question it.
Is it true?
Would a camera see it?
Is this story helping me create the life or business I want?
Does believing it help me act the way I want to act?
And then comes the fun part.
Rewrite it.
Instead of:
I have to get it right.
Try:
I have to get it moving.
Instead of:
I’ll do it when I’m ready.
Try:
Doing it is how I become ready.
Instead of:
It needs to be perfect before people see it.
Try:
Version one only has to exist.
And then give the new story something to DO.
Send the email.
Publish the post.
Make the call.
Create the first version.
Have the conversation.
Ask that person to coffee
Take the next step.
Because a rewritten story without a strategy is just a nicer thought.
The strategy is how you begin living the new story and your next chapter.
Watch the Replay
If perfectionism has ever kept you waiting for the “right time”...
Working on something long after it was good enough...
Or stopping you from starting because you couldn’t guarantee the outcome...
Watch this week’s episode above:
Story & Strategy LIVE E7: The Story Behind Perfectionism
As you watch, don’t just listen for what perfectionism means in somebody else’s life.
Listen for your sentence.
You know, the one that has been quietly telling you what has to happen before you’re allowed to move.
Because once you can see the story...
You can question the story.
Once you can question the story...
You can rewrite the story.
And once you rewrite the story...
You can build something new.
Your Next Chapter
This is exactly why I created Your Next Chapter.
Because recognizing the old story is only the beginning.
The real transformation happens when you learn how to:
Find the story.
Question the story.
Rewrite the story.
Build the strategy.
And then actually live what comes next.
Not just in your business.
In your life, too.
Inside Your Next Chapter, we’re doing this work together.
You’ll have the tools, templates, coaching and community to help you recognize the stories keeping you stuck and build the strategies that move you forward.
Because your old story may explain how you got here.
It doesn’t get to decide where you go next.
When you’re ready...
Your Next Chapter is waiting to be written.
Coming Up Next Week
Next week we’re moving from a life challenge to a business challenge:
The Story Behind Your First (or Next) Product
If you’ve been thinking...
“I don’t know what I could sell.”
“Nobody would pay for what I know.”
“I need to create a bunch of stuff first.”
Or the classic...
“Who am I to create a product?”
Ohhhh, we’ve got some stories to uncover. :-)
Because sometimes the thing standing between what you know and your first (or next) product...
isn’t the product.
It’s the story you believe about creating it.
See you next week.
~ Jeff
Every challenge has a story.
Every story can be rewritten.
Every rewritten story becomes...
Your Next Chapter.
