- The Kaizen
- Posts
- Done Is Better Than Perfect
Done Is Better Than Perfect
In the race for perfection, many great ideas never see the light of day, many projects never get finished, and dreams are left un-executed on because for most people, If they were told that the thing they are working on would never be perfect, they wouldn’t even bother starting in the first place.
Callum Carver
February 20, 2024
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Until you win, effort always goes unnoticed, get used to it.”
DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT
308 Words | 1 Min 7 Sec Read
Done is better than perfect.
In the race for perfection, many great ideas never see the light of day, many projects never get finished, and dreams are left un-executed because, for most people, if they were told that the thing they are working on would never be perfect, they wouldn’t even bother starting in the first place.
Finishing something, however, is so much better than perfecting something.
History is filled with ideas that were far from perfect, but they were done.
For example, the Wright brothers first flight in 1903 lasted just 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. It was far from the jumbo jets that we see today, but it marked the beginning of human flight, which evolved into what it is today.
Thomas Edison’s first light bulbs didn’t last long at all, but they paved the way for today's technology.
Pushing an idea out into the world, even if it is imperfect, can lead to iterative improvements and a significant impact over time.
Admittedly, it doesn’t seem significant at the time, but if you’re trying something new, don’t expect it to be perfect, because perfect isn’t always best.
This is why MVP’s exist (minimum viable products); they are basic iterations of the overall vision that people use to put out into the world that they can then iterate on and improve over time.
If MVP’s weren't a thing, then you would have nothing to iterate on in the first place. The main reason you shouldn’t strive for perfection is because, a lot of the time, you don’t know what perfect actually looks like until you get enough feedback.
ACTIONABLE NEXT STEPS:
Don’t let the thought of trying to be perfect paralyse you from actually getting started, if its in the way and you’re thinking it through too much, just do the thing and iterate later on.
LESSON OF THE DAY ⤵️
“Why do humans so often dictate their actions purely based on their emotions, when emotions are extremely volatile and we know there are things that must be done anyway.”
Emotions are what make you who you are. Emotions make us want, feel, desire and more often then not are the driving force behind what it is that you’re working towards.
You don’t want money to have money but you want money to have the freedom to buy what you want when you want to ultimately feel happy.
On the other hand, emotions can act as an anchor which means that you need to learn how to control them and when it comes to doing things that you know you need to do regardless of how you feel, you need to eliminate them.
Want to ask The Kaizen something? Click this link, ask your question, and every day we pick one out to answer in the next day's newsletter.
ARE YOU SICK AND TIRED OF US?
We get it; for some, the daily emails can be a lot, but the last thing we want is to lose you as a subscriber because of that.
So we came up with an alternative: The Kaizen Weekly.
One hard-hitting edition a week, every Friday.
We both know you need The Kaizen in your life, and whether thats once a week or once a day, thats up to you.
If you want to change your preferences, check out this link:
Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here
Got any questions or thoughts about this edition? If so, send us an email to [email protected]