How to Overcome Perfectionism by Thinking Iteratively

Corey Wilks, Psy.D. (: 00:00

So here's the thing, if perfectionism is keeping you from launching something right now, the powerful mindset shift you can make is to learn how to think iteratively by adopting an MVP mindset. And here's what I mean. So my name is Dr. Corey Wilkes. I'm a psychologist and a coach, and I share no bullshit strategies and insights into psychology to help you build the life you want. So let's get started. So I used to try to come up with like the quote unquote perfect plan before I would launch something or publish something. I'd spend hours, days, even weeks coming up with elaborate plans.

value ladders, and content ecosystems to market everything. I'd even run my plans by a couple friends who were super good at finding problems because I thought, well, if I can come up with something that they can't poke holes in, then that's what I'll build because that will be perfect. But spoiler alert, that never happened because no plan is perfect. Because I was waiting for perfection before I launched the thing or published the thing, I never launched or published anything.

Then I came across a book that introduced a concept to me that changed everything. And that book is The Lean Startup. And this concept is building an MVP, which in The Lean Startup, an MVP is a minimum viable product. You may have heard of this concept. It's really popular in like the startup world. But here's how I've adapted it to my own business and life. See, I see everything now as V1, as the first version of the thing I ultimately want to build or put out there.

I can't get to V2 without launching V1, a shitty first version, because I need to launch that V1 so that I can get feedback and iterate it into becoming V2. So I launch V1 as soon as I can so that I can get to V2 as soon as possible. See, too many people think they can skip straight to V10, right? Like the perfect version of whatever it is you want to put out there.

They think if they theorycraft enough, if they plan enough, if they think enough, if they talk enough, eventually they'll come up with the perfect plan. But all that typically ends up turning into is you think about launching, you talk about launching, you plan how you're going to launch and how awesome it's gonna be, but you never actually launch the thing. Because here's the thing, you can't get to the V10 version of anything without a shit ton of iteration. And you can't iterate without a shit ton of feedback.

Corey Wilks, Psy.D. (: 02:21

and you can't get feedback without launching the shit you say you want to launch. So a simple question I ask myself and I use with my coaching clients when perfectionism is an issue and they're caught up in this perfectionism, theory crafting, endless cycle of not launching or not publishing their thing. Don't ask, is this as good as it can be? Ask, is this as good as I can make it today? Because if you ask, is this as good as it can be? The answer is no, it can always be better.

But if you ask, is this as good as I can make it today? You're putting two constraints on it. One, you're asking, is this as good as I can make it? Not as good as it has the potential to be, but as good as you are currently capable of making. And the second one is, is this as good as you can make it today? Not as this as good as you can make it tomorrow or in 10 years, today. This allows you to adopt an MVP mindset and focus on making progress over achieving perfection. Because you're identifying what is the most

Minimum viable version of this I am capable of creating today, let me put that out there as that shitty V1 so that I can start to get feedback, so that I have something to actually iterate on, to improve upon rather than waiting for perfection. Because here's the thing, perfection is unattainable, right? Like nothing in life is perfect, which means that perfectionism is expecting yourself to attain the unattainable. Progress, on the other hand, is attainable.

but you can't make progress, AKA iterate, without feedback. And you can't get feedback until you launch the thing. So finding a way to actually launch the thing, to overcome that perfectionism mindset, to launch a minimum viable version of that thing is key to getting to this more perfected version way down the line. That way you can build the thing, launch the thing, get feedback on the thing, and improve the thing. You'll never reach perfection. But with enough launching and iterating,

The progress you can make over the next few years will be incredible. So if you're struggling with perfectionism, try adopting an MVP mindset. What is the minimum viable version of your idea? Whether it is your business, an article, newsletter, video, podcast, whatever the thing is, what is the minimum viable version of that thing that is as good as you can make it today so that you can put it out into the world? Start getting feedback.

Corey Wilks, Psy.D. (: 04:44

start iterating on that feedback, and then make this thing everything you believe it is capable of being. If you like content like this, check out my newsletter, I'll put a link below. Every week I share insights and strategies into psychology to help you build the life you want. Until next time, take it easy.