Perfectionism: The enemy of Productivity?

We are often told to do just do our best. But often we find doing our best can lead to an extreme situation where we try to get things so right that it really hinders our progress in whatever project we attempt. This is where we have to realize there is a middle ground. I have to confess that I got the idea for this article from a radio sermon by Adrian Rogers. It was a good message. But I’ll try to attack it maybe from a little different angle.

I think we’ve all probably done this to some degree. And, really, it’s possible to try to get things too perfect in almost any area of our lives. I know I had that problem just when I decided to start this blog. I kept thinking to myself, “Well, I’d really like to get started, but this part isn’t quite right or I’d like to figure out how this works first and I don’t know what to do if this happens.” As you can see, I ended up not worrying about it being too perfect. But, actually, I received some rather sage advice from a friend who told me to basically just get started. So, that’s what I did. Now, I’m off and rolling.

One of the things I discovered once I did that was that you end up just learning some things as you go. Not all your questions are answered up front, at the beginning. It turns out you need to leave yourself room to learn as you go. Huh, who knew? Of course, this was a good learning experience for me. And, honestly, I’m about as guilty as any when it comes to being a perfectionist.

There are really three outcomes I can think of when someone is a perfectionist. One is, the person who starts a project and eventually gets finished, but the process is so long and agonizing that it’s not really feasible, or practical, for them to try to repeat the process. The second is the person who starts the project but then never finishes because it all just becomes too difficult so they just give up. And the third is the person who never gets started because they already anticipate their perfectionism. So, they just think they will never finish it right anyway. So, why even get started on it? I’ve found myself in this last category too many times.

Anyone have any advice here? No, just kidding. I think I know what to do. It’s just a matter of doing it. Probably the best thing you can do to remedy this is to change your mind set at the beginning. Recognize that nothing is ever going to be perfect in this world. Many-a-motivation are ruined by people’s own pie-in-the-sky expectations. There, that should take some pressure off. This probably takes half the pressure off anyway.

Another thing is just doing the best job you know how to do. Pretty simple, right? This isn’t rocket science, I know. Sometimes, though we need to be told these things. Just give it your best effort. You’ve heard it said, “You only fail when you stop trying.” Well, it’s really true. So, you don’t have to fear failure if you just never give up.

…Let’s go deeper

So, you’ve guessed it. I’ve got some more to add on this topic. I’d like to point out one main thing here at the outset. I think our view of God is often skewed and we have a misperception of his expectations. We often align our view of God’s expectations with the person who we looked up to, or respected, the most when we were growing up. Some may have been good examples and some weren’t. But we have to remember our view of God should be reflected by what his word says. The Bible says in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man that he should lie.” So, he has already, in that verse, separated himself from anyone else you looked up to. Because we know we can trust him.

In the Bible it also says that he told Abraham in Genesis 17:1, “…walk before me and be thou perfect”. Now, was he expecting Abraham to never make a mistake? No, we know that he did. I believe what God was asking for here was a perfect heart. I believe that’s what he wants from every one of us. That’s a different thing from never making a mistake. You see what that means is his goal is for us to be pure in heart. This happens as we allow him to change us from within. A yielded vessel unto him. That’s what Abraham was. And as we do that, God will show us the areas in our hearts that aren’t right and areas where we need to work on.

Life seems levitra samples free tough for a teenage boy because of peer pressure. The different companies are providing the names of their production and delivers the medicine with free on line levitra of cost. It is estimated by the UK Health Centre that 80% of men will profit with better and stronger erection, enhanced sexual drive and sexual desire in most men of middle age who are the inhabitants of developed countries. india tadalafil tablets Casodex tablets contain the active ingredient http://robertrobb.com/research-university-oligopoly-wins-a-round/ cialis price bicalutamide, which is a type of fat. What are these areas? Well, they can be jealousy, pride, bitterness, lust, or any number of other things. The point is this process starts when we start our new life in him. He gives us a new heart when we are born again. So, then we can start living a new way instead of the old way we had been living. New life with a new purpose. And it’s a good life he has given us. Not always easy. But definitely worth it! And the best part is, we always know he is there with us in everything. His word says in Hebrew 13:5, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

So, this kind of changes our view of perfection, doesn’t it? We found out that perfection in the natural sense isn’t attainable anyway. But the perfection God is looking for is attainable when we are yielded to him. Good to know, isn’t it?

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

Genesis 17:1 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”

Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

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