What is perfectionism?
According to Psychology Today, perfectionism is a trait that “makes life an endless report card on accomplishments or looks.” As with many things, perfectionism can be used in good ways and used in bad ways.
It can help motivate you to succeed by overcoming adversity, but it can also become toxic as you try to avoid failing at all costs.
Thanks for the psychology lesson, Jamil, but what does this have to do with my wholesaling business?
Turns out, a lot.
How Perfectionism Manifests Within Business
At one time or another, all of us want to be perfect – we want the perfect car, the perfect house, the perfect grades on a report grade, and yes, the perfect business.
The problem with perfectionism is it can instill that fear of failure, to the point where you are too afraid to try something in case that you might fail.
Or worse, you approach things with the thought that you somehow need to know how to do it before actually doing it. Think of a time when you’ve stopped yourself from doing something because you thought you’d fail at it.
And that’s the thought a lot of people have when it comes to starting a business or starting in an industry they’ve never been in before. But here’s the thing – you won’t know if you don’t try.
Failing is a part of life and what it should do is provide a learning experience; so if you put too much salt in that stew you made, your takeaway should be to add less salt the next time, not to completely decide you can’t cook. Learning from your mistakes and doing better next time is how you fail forward.
Another aspect of perfectionism is trying to learn everything all at once.
While I’m knowledgeable on wholesale real estate, that doesn’t mean I know everything – or anything, for that matter – about skyscrapers. And to that point, I certainly don’t know everything there is to learn about real estate as a whole!
I knew nothing about real estate investing when I got started and I had to learn along the way. And you should be learning because life is a constant cycle of learning and gaining new knowledge!
But the trap people get into is what we call analysis paralysis, where there is just so much to learn that you become paralyzed in trying to discover what it is you need to know.
That’s how perfectionism gets in your way, and it can be a detriment for you to grow your business and yourself. So,
How Do You Overcome Perfectionism?
First, be aware when your thoughts start turning negative. Again, it’s okay to fail as long as you’re learning and understanding why you failed and use that to motivate you to reach your goal.
Next, don’t get trapped in believing that you need to know everything before you start something. You don’t!
The best course of action is knowing and understanding that you’re not going to know everything, but don’t get so hung up on learning that you get stuck on where to go next. To truly, truly learn something, you have to take that knowledge, apply it, and experience it.
If you want to learn about the fundamentals of wholesale and apply that knowledge, then why are you still reading? Come and join us at AstroFlipping.