Key Takeaways
- Striving for perfection is stressful and unrealistic.
- Instead, aim to strive for progress.
- Use the 80/20 rule to get started and to help you reach your goals.
Back in your school days, you may have been a student who aimed for straight A’s and 100% on every essay, quiz, and test. It was likely very stressful, but if you achieved those things, you probably received praise for them – maybe even an award or a mention on the honor roll.
School teaches us to strive for that sort of perfection, but in the real world, it’s about progress, not perfection. Not only is aiming for perfection stressful, it’s difficult (impossible, really) to maintain with any consistency, and it’s simply unrealistic. It can also stop us from even trying in the first place.
Instead of perfection, strive for progress. Try using the 80/20 rule when you do this. This isn’t Pareto’s Principle, which states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Rather, it’s a way to get started on the idea that you want progress, not perfection. The 80/20 rule refers to the idea that, no matter when you start something, you’ll only get 80% of it right the first time. It doesn’t matter if you start on something now, next week, next year, or 10 years from now.
Take, for example, someone who’s trying to write their first book. A person might be waiting for the “right time” to start writing. In doing so, they may end up waiting decades to get started. Others who understand the 80/20 principle get started right away, knowing they’ll get 80% right their first try.
You may be thinking that it doesn’t sound very appealing to only get 80% right. Well, this is where progress comes into play, because that’s just your first try. On your second try, you’ll progress 80% more, meaning you’ll be at 96% after your second try. If you go back a third time, you’ll get to 99%, which is fantastic!
This is something successful people understand – they get started, knowing they’ll have room to improve on their first try, and then they keep trying.
You can apply this to your money, as well. If you’ve been thinking about putting money into your 401(k), but you’ve been waiting until you feel you can contribute the maximum amount or until the “perfect” time to do it comes along, you may never get started. Instead, start small and start now. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a few dollars each month – that first step is progress. Then you can build on that progress as you go.
This applies to your money and your life in general. Think progress, not perfection, the next time you go to start something. Until next time, enjoy.
Gary
If you’d like to read more on this topic, here are a few of Gary’s previous posts that you might enjoy:
