Mistakes Are Opportunities for Improvements
As the speed of change continues to increase, it gets more and more challenging for us as small business owners to keep up with new ideas and innovations related to our work, let alone implement and master all these new things. We already have so much on our minds that striving to keep up-to-date and adopt new trends is bound to feel overwhelming.
While it’s important to be aware of new ideas and embrace new ways of doing things, you don’t have to master everything. “Don’t let perfectionism be the enemy of good,” advised the French philosopher Voltaire. I take his advice even further: if you’re not making mistakes, you’re not learning anything new. If everything is always perfect, you’re probably doing the same things over and over again.
There are many things going on in the world that are new to me or that I find confusing, but I’m committed to learning. I give myself permission to make mistakes, because I know I’ll follow up my mistakes with learning how to improve.
How perfectionism inhibits growth
You may not think of yourself as a perfectionist, but it’s a tendency that sneaks up on us and influences decisions. Here are some ways perfectionism can inhibit growth:
- Discourages creativity, experimentation, and originality
- Fosters procrastination
- Reinforces rigidity
- Eliminates excitement of discovery
- Establishes unattainable goals
Being willing to make mistakes in the service of innovation can require patience and a thick skin. You may get frustrated with yourself or even criticized by others new things don’t work as planned. Actively adopting a more flexible and open mindset, and practicing empathy towards yourself and others, will help to create a work environment where things may not always be perfect, but they’re always getting better.
If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk: