Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Home Business?

Know More: Work/Life Balance perfecitionist, perfectionism, perfectionism in business, procrastination

Are you a perfectionist?

If you answered "yes," could your perfectionism be holding you back in business?

One of the definitions of perfectionism at Merriam-Webster Online is "a disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable."

Admittedly, perfectionism has some positive attributes that can be helpful to a business - namely, a focus on high quality products and services. However, uncontrolled perfectionism also has some very negative effects. It can lead to frustration ("nothing I do is ever good enough"), procrastination ("it just needs one more fix"), and even depression ("I'll never get it right").

I have to confess. I struggled with perfectionism for years. When I was growing up I never felt like my honor roll grades were really good enough because I just knew that if I had worked a little bit harder I could have done better. I even felt this way when I had the top grades in the class!

Over the years I've learned to ease up on myself (most of the time), which is a good thing because now that I work for myself there are plenty of opportunities for unchecked perfectionism to keep me from reaching my goals. Here are three excellent posts that can help work-at-home moms put perfectionism into the proper perspective:

From the Positivity Blog, 8 Powerful Ways to Release Pressure from Your Life. Notice point number two.
From About.com, Overcoming Perfectionism, How To Develop a Healthier Outlook. This post highlights the importance of viewing your achievements realistically rather than idealistically.
From WebWorker Daily, Tip of the Week: Become an Imperfectionist. This post explains that perfectionism is common among women and is a major contributor to work-life balance problems.

What about you? Is perfectionism something that you've had to struggle with in your home business or in your life?

If you feel comfortable talking about it, leave a comment and let us know.

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I tend to have some major problems with perfectionsim . . . to the point where I get paralized about even starting something because I feel like there's no point unless the finished product is going to be perfect. Learning that there really is no such thing as "pefect" has helped a bit. It's riduculous to constantly strive for something that is impossible. It doesn't always work, but reminding myself of this can make a difference.

Posted by: lornadoone | November 9, 2007 3:46 PM | Permalink to Comment

Hi lornadoone,

You're not alone! I actually think that it might be a character trait of writers, I know so many of us who struggle with it. When I first started writing it was hard to let go of my work because I never really thought it was finished enough.

Posted by: Laura | November 9, 2007 4:33 PM | Permalink to Comment

Because of perfectionism, I had a hard time hiring subcontractors. However, in the past year, I've bitten the bullet and started farming out work. One subcontractor turned out to be a flake, which was disappointing -- but not the end of the world.

Posted by: Andrea >> Start a consulting business | November 12, 2007 10:12 PM | Permalink to Comment

Devoted to WAHMs -Work at Home Moms

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