Progress over perfection
Progress over perfection is the key to success
Perfectionism and fear of failure can be paralyzing. When I believed that nothing I did would ever be good enough, I often gave up before even trying. This is why the best advice I have ever received is to always focus on progress over perfection. This mindset has helped me enjoy the trials and errors that come with learning and growth.
One of the biggest areas where this advice has helped me is public performance. Speaking or performing in front of others used to be very difficult for me. My body would tense up, I’d start to sweat and lose my vision, my voice and hands would shake, my mind would go blank. I was so afraid of making mistakes and “looking dumb” that I could hardly function. However, when I started reminding myself that I didn’t need to be perfect and that I didn’t have to justify my existence or explain myself to anyone, everything became easier. I realized that the only thing that truly mattered was doing my best, regardless of other people’s opinions. This mindset has given me confidence and allowed me to improve in my own pace without fear.
In relation to language learning, my primary goal is to develop my skills in English. I aim to hold flowing conversations without hesitation. Fluency is a long-term goal, but even small improvements matter, such as understanding a new phrase, improvement in pronunciation, or expressing my thoughts more easily.
While I still struggle to find the right words, especially when speaking, I feel I am still making progress. Being required to study and communicate in English for school is definitely helping with that.
Whether in public speaking or language learning, the important thing is persisting and embracing the process. Personal growth should always be the goal in everything, not perfection
I think that advice could be applied to programming too as usually you want to make code work and after that start improving it. In many situations pasta code is fine as it get jobs done. To be honest people won't usually find your mistakes on stage when performing unless you point them out for them as they probably are more focused to presentation or some own things than mistakes you have made. And as person who sometimes stutters when speaking, I can say that as long as you get point across people wont bat am eye.
VastaaPoistaThank you for the post. This is advice I try to keep with me as well. Chasing perfection is exhausting and demotivating, but taking small steps and staying consistent helps you achieve so much more.
VastaaPoistaGreat post! It is relatable. The advice given to you is also true as progress does make a difference. Good progress can be achieved with consistency.
VastaaPoista