Pursuing Perfection

​Perfection. It's a word I simultaneously cherish and despise. And even though I know I can never achieve it, I'm constantly pursuing it.

Does that sound like you too? Do you ever give up on something before you've even started because you know it will never be perfect? Or, if you do begin, do you spend countless hours tweaking and still feel like you've fallen short?

It's a common problem among writers especially. We wait for the perfect moment to start writing that novel, once the house is clean, the kids are in bed, or all our work responsibilities are complete. We write and rewrite the same passage over and over in the vain hope that this time the words will convey all that we intended and more. We check and recheck for our own errors, frustrated that each pass reveals more inadequacies.

In short, we obsess. Anything that isn't perfect is unacceptable and must be redone. And when we fall short again and again, we feel like failures.

But that's a lie. You know why? Because perfection is a lie, too. The simple truth is that nothing in this world is or ever will be perfect. Not me. Not you. Not your writing. Not mine.

The solution to perfectionism is simple, but you may not want to hear it: Let it go. I know, that's easier said than done. Trust me, that can be hard to come to terms with. Even though we know logically that it's true, something within us still screams, "But wait! If I just try a little harder, everything will finally come together flawlessly."

But that's never going to happen. And do you know what this continual striving for the unattainable costs us? Time, energy, money, peace of mind. If we keep pushing against an immovable barrier, we'll never be able to enjoy life. What a waste.

So where does that leave us? Well, I'm not an expert at overcoming perfectionism, but I think it really comes down to trust. At a certain point, you have to trust in yourself and your skills enough to know that you've done your best. Set a limit for yourself, and once you reach it, step back, take a deep breath, and trust that you did everything you could. Then let it go and move on.

When it comes to your writing, this is especially crucial. Anything you write should definitely be edited and rewritten to an extent. That's how writing gets better. But eventually, enough is enough, and continued tweaking will start to make your writing worse.

Sometimes success is found in completing something you set out to do, no matter how poor the quality of the final product. Just do it. Be content in the knowledge that you did a hard thing and didn't give up.

Trust in your skill. Trust in your audience's ability to have grace if they find any blemishes.

Many famous writers have said that writing is never finished; you just have to choose to surrender it.

So write. Do your best. Take a deep breath and hit submit. And trust that it's enough.​