I recently heard a quote that really offended me: “Done is better than perfect”.
I heard this quote on a business podcast hosted by two friends of mine. I love these two women and am encouraged by them on a regular basis, but when they shared this quote, every fiber of my being disagreed.
How can something simply just being done be better than it being perfect? As a perfectionist at heart, I’ve always felt that anything worth doing was worth doing well, really well. So why settle for just simply completing a task instead of doing it perfectly? Isn’t that kind of like giving up?
Ironically, just a few weeks later I started training for a half marathon. Have you ever tried to make your body move for a long period of time over a long distance after crossing that 30-year-old mark and birthing four babies? It is not pretty. Or easy. After a horrible run one day, I found myself saying to myself, “At least I finished.”
And there it was.
Done is better than perfect.
As I walked down the street struggling to breathe, feeling defeated for not being stronger, and wondering how many of my neighbors were staring at me wondering if they should call 911, I realized how wrong I had been about this idea, how very dangerous my bent towards perfection is, and how unrealistic my mindset has been. A hundred scenarios came into my mind where perfection really doesn’t matter but completion does.
Maybe you can relate.
Like when your house looks like a literal tornado has gone through it and you feel the need to clean every room from floor to ceiling…but you don’t because why try if the whole house can’t be in pristine condition by the time you finish?
Like when your to-do list requires you to schedule three doctor’s appointments, e-mail your accountant, schedule your once-a-year hair appointment, and find time to respond to the five unanswered text messages on your phone…but you don’t do any of it because if you can’t get it all done, why get any of it done?
Like when you’ve spent the last nine years being pregnant and nursing babies and know that you need to start taking care of yourself again, eating well, moving your body…but you sit on the couch instead because why even try when there’s no way you’ll look like that influencer on Instagram?
Look at every area of your life: emotionally, physically, mentally, relationally. What are the tasks that you have felt looming over you that you just haven’t been able to conquer because you know you can’t do them perfectly? And if you can’t do them perfectly, like me, you assume you shouldn’t even try.
Here’s the truth: Done really is better than perfect.
Conquering the pile of dishes but still having a messy house is a win.
Picking up the toys in one room but still stepping on legos in another room is better than not picking up anything at all.
Answering two of those text messages but still having three unanswered is progress.
Taking a walk instead of sitting on the couch is a BIG little victory.
Don’t hear what I’m not saying: laziness is not a virtue and choosing to live our lives with little discipline isn’t helpful. But accomplishing small tasks a little at a time leads to endurance. And endurance leads to growth.
It doesn’t have to be pretty. It doesn’t have to be better than someone else. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to be done.
Because done is better than perfect.
