I was working on a bunch of marketing emails, and I just wasn’t feeling “in the flow.” My ideas and creativity seemed to be all backed up at the rotary.

However, with a baby and limited childcare, I only had the two hours that I had booked to get the emails done before my deadline.

Gone are the days of meandering around projects and organizing my sock drawer for a few hours before finally getting around to putting my butt in my seat at the computer. Gone are the days of staying up until 1am to get something done for a launch the next day. (I may be up at 1am anyway, but I won’t be at my computer. I’ll be hovered over a precious baby girl trying to will her back to sleep.)

I simply had to get the emails done right then, with or without the muse and her inspirational fairy dust.

So I wrote them.

They were not the best emails I’d ever written. They got the message across, but I didn’t feel deeply connected to my ideal customer as I often do. I just wasn’t in the zone.

It felt clunky. It was arduous. It was a slog. But they were done.

As I made my lunch that day I was feeling kind of “meh” about the emails and wishing I’d had more time to perfect them or re-write them all together.

And then I had the following thought:

A less-than-perfect email that’s written and sent will make more sales than an email that never gets sent because I’m obsessing about it not being good enough.

I’d heard the phrase, “Done is better than perfect.” But what that really meant didn’t land until I was right in the thick of it, realizing that good enough had to be good enough…and that it was way better than nothing.

The emails got sent. Sales were made. Good enough was more than enough.

So much goodness never sees the light of day because we don’t think its good enough.

A less than perfect painting that gets hung in a gallery will move more people, create more beauty, and sell way better than a painting that remains hostage in the studio, leaning against the wall with the other forlorn canvases that the obsessive painter won’t let go of.

A good enough blog post drives more traffic and teaches more people than one that’s never published.

A slightly sloppy shot scores more goals than one that’s never taken.

We can still aim for greatness.

We can still strive for excellence.

We can polish and shine when there’s time and space.

But we have to know when it’s time to set our work free and let it do its thing, imperfections and all.

Imperfect work that’s put out there changes more lives than work that stays hidden because its creator was trapped by perfectionism.

Perfectionism stalls progress.

Perfectionism keeps us stuck.

Perfectionism robs the world of our gifts and talents.

Sometimes good enough has to be good enough, and it’s always better than nothing. {Tweet it!}

You’ll make more sales with an email that’s written and sent than with an email that’s never sent because you thought it wasn’t perfect.

The truth is it will never be perfect. So just hit send.

 

OVER TO YOU:

Do you find yourself caught in perfectionism? What’s one project that you’re ready to put out into the world even if it’s not perfect? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!