Public speaking? I need to be a more confident talker first
Proper professional photos? Nah, I need to lose at least a stone first
Record a podcast or video? I hate the sound of my voice! I’ll need to work on that first
These are all thoughts I’ve had in the past. I’ve waited for the perfect circumstances. And the perfect body. And the silky voice of a Radio Four presenter.
But y’know what? It’s bollocks. Perfection is bollocks. And, to be frank, terribly boring. Perfection is just a way to procrasinate about doing things that scare you a little bit.
Perfect is impossible. However, self-improvement is always a Very Good Thing. And you’ll only get better at it if you do the thing before you’re ready. In fact, this little quote from LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman rings true for a lot of things you put off:
If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.
Stop putting things off until the perfect circumstances turn up. The perfect time to do something is NOW.
