President, Royal Lepage Connect Realty | CEO, Aligned Agent Academy, Top 50 Women in Canadian Real Estate REP Magazine.
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We’re all wired differently when it comes to the level of results we want to achieve. Some real estate leaders see perfectionism as the only way to live and achieve success, and others believe it’s an unattainable standard and often in the way of making progress.
If you struggle with perfectionism and not achieving the results you want, knowing what is driving your behavior is the first step toward being able to shift to a more productive pursuit of excellence.
Your brain is wired for safety, not success.
Our brains are wired to protect us and our genetics, upbringing and environments can play a role in how extreme or flexible we are about perfectionism. Often, we have a response when our brains are trying to keep us safe. For example, when we’re about to embark on something new and the brain is unfamiliar with the task or experience, it sees it as a threat. That perceived threat activates a safety switch that begins to signal, “Stranger danger! Wait! We don’t know about this — better not do it!”
That’s when perfectionism sets in. No action = no danger. This is a common trap that many real estate leaders face. While it often gets masked as the pursuit of excellence, it’s actually the thing that is keeping you stuck. If you don’t take action, your dreams will never come to fruition and you’ll look back wondering why you’re not seeing results. The good news is you can reprogram your brain and finally achieve your dreams.
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How do you reprogram your brain for success?
The biggest lie in perfectionism is that it is part of our identity. We need to divorce the thinking that perfectionism is the only way to get ahead, reach our goals and build our businesses. Maybe you’ve had pressure from other perfectionists in the industry that imperfect is unacceptable. The truth is, done is better than perfect. Most of the time, real estate leaders making imperfect moves are getting better results than people waiting for things to be just right. You may have the perfect plan, but without action, you won’t achieve results.
Let’s break this down further. As a recovering perfectionist, I’ve learned some strategies and new ways of thinking that have helped. The next time perfectionism creeps up on you, take some time to focus on these things:
• Identify your fear. Are you afraid of failure and feel that if something isn’t perfect, it will humiliate and discredit your competence? Are you afraid of success because it’s uncharted territory and you’re not sure you can handle it? Both of these fears are usually emotional and irrational. Take some time to really think about the actual worst-case scenario and work through it logically rather than emotionally.
• Remember your ‘why,’ not your ‘I.’ What gets you really motivated in the grand scheme of things? What small things need to be out of the way so you can move on to the bigger things? Put aside the pressure to perform and focus on making progress. When you’re locked into your why, the need for external approval or winning fades away and you’re able to work from a grounded place of intention.
• Done is better than perfect. As I said before, results don’t happen without action. Think of all the great ideas you’ve had that never came to light because you wanted perfection. It’s better to catapult your good ideas into the world and see who they resonate with than to keep them hidden in your head for the sake of perfection. Trust me on this one.
• Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Once you’ve committed to getting things done, even if they’re imperfect, you’re going to be instantly uncomfortable. Your brain will do it’s very best to make you doubt that imperfectionism is okay. This is the time to embrace the awkwardness, face the anxiety and continue to say “yes, let’s do it” when you want to say “hmm, not yet…” The more you jump over these little hurdles, the more you’ll start to see new things as less threatening, which will assist you in making more and more progress toward your goals.
• Don’t miss the growth opportunities. Success is a series of steps, progress and growth. If you aim for perfection right away, you miss the valuable lessons that come along with growth and trying new things. Think about all the things you’ve been sitting on because they aren’t “perfect.” You’ll never know if that video is exactly what your client needs to hear right now if you continue to keep it in your draft folder. You’ll never know if that marketing strategy is exactly what will propel your business forward if you continue to wait and make it perfect. When you do nothing, you learn nothing, and you get nothing in return.
Let go of uncertainty and do.
You don’t know what you don’t know and that’s OK. You may think this advice is only reserved for true beginners, but we need to hold on to it in every stage of success. That video you have sitting in your draft folder that you’ve been contemplating re-doing because it wasn’t good enough… post it! That idea you’ve been sitting on that you’ve been wanting to implement in your business… execute it! That connection you’ve wanted to grow on LinkedIn… send the message! There’s no telling what’s waiting for you when you don’t try. Remember, the goal is pursuing excellence and making progress — not getting stuck in perfectionism.
I know it’s scary, but take a deep breath, let go of perfectionism, and go be awesome today.
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