Quick note before we jump in. The Optimistic Outlook book is now available on Amazon. It brings together the best posts from the last year of this newsletter. If you or someone close to you enjoys short inspirational stories, it makes a perfect gift.

Being a perfectionist is quietly killing your progress.

You want things to be perfect. You want what you produce to be flawless. That desire is not bad. But it is slowing you down.

Recently, I had the chance to play a round of golf with my son and another father and son. Both dads are accomplished players. Both boys are solid golfers. Outside of obvious differences like driving distance, the biggest gap between a good player and an advanced player showed up in one place.

The less experienced player is always trying to be perfect.

They obsess over their misses. They replay bad shots. They react emotionally. Every flaw feels like a failure.

Advanced players think differently. They accept imperfection. They stay neutral. They move on to the next shot.

That round reminded me of a great Confucius quote.

Think about it for a moment. Would you rather have a diamond with a flaw or a pebble without one? Of course, you would choose the diamond. Would you rather have:

Of course, you said having something vs having nothing. Yet too often, perfection becomes the excuse for inaction. Your desire to get it just right is holding you back from getting it done. Your fixation on flaws is keeping you from making progress.

Here is the best part: you get to decide your approach.

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