Put a Halt to Perfectionism
Perfectionism is a detriment to any business. If you have this issue, it means that you’re trying to do something without it having any possible mistakes. People who struggle with this issue often feel an inner battle that who they are or the work they do will somehow not be enough.
They believe that the outcome of their work, if it’s not perfect, is a reflection that they’re flawed. This belief can cause an entrepreneur to set such high standards that they’re difficult to meet.
You’ll rarely be pleased with the outcome of a project and if someone else is completing part of the task, you’ll always find fault in their work. No one, including yourself, will ever reach your measurement because it’s impossible achieve perfection.
When you allow perfectionism to go on, you create a lot of stress for yourself. You can end up working longer hours on a single project than is necessary because even though that project may have been complete days ago, you don’t feel that it’s good enough.
You’re trying to fix an inward problem you have by projecting externally with the work that you do. You’ll end up burning out if you don’t change that behavior. Deep down, perfectionism is rooted in fear and that fear can keep you stuck.
One key sign that this might be a problem that’s sabotaging your business is if you turn down opportunities because you’re afraid of failing. You’re afraid that you can’t control the outcome, so you don’t take the chance.
Another sign is that you can’t stand change. You like things done the “right” way, which you associate with “your” way. No one else can do it as well as you can. There might be several directions you can go with a project and all of them would be suitable – but you get stuck on just the one way.
Something that’s also a sign of perfectionism is the amount of time you invest in a project. You spend so much time going over something that’s done to make sure absolutely nothing is missed that you’re struggling to get everything launched or completed on time.
The problem with a perfectionist is that the person has trouble letting go of something. It could be an idea, a project or a business plan. But at the same time, a perfectionist also has trouble even beginning a project because they keep trying to make sure everything is in place and all is perfect before taking that first action step.
You can overcome this issue and stop self-sabotaging by just getting the work done – flaws and all. Tell yourself that if you finish, you can take the time to polish the project afterward.
If part of the issue is that you get stuck on doing things your way because you’re afraid of mistakes that might happen and ruin the project, then learn to welcome the mistakes as growing pains.
You can also overcome perfectionism by not trying to have your finger in every piece of the pie. Let other people help and learn to be okay with the concept of done is better than perfect.
Give Yourself a Fresh Start
It can happen to anyone. You start your business and you’re excited about it, but then you end up doing the same thing all the time and you get the exact same results. You discover that the ideas you’re using aren’t really new, they don’t stand out and you’re not seeing the kind of conversions that you’d like to see.
That’s when you know it’s time to give yourself a fresh start. Far too many marketers fail to realize that you’re not chained to any one decision that you make for the rest of your business life.
When you give yourself a fresh start, it can work to change the way that you think about and act on your business ideas. But, it can also impact your business growth. A fresh start can bring in more traffic and turn your audience into buyers.
It allows you to set new or different goals for yourself. It’s not giving up – it’s growing in a new direction. When you’re in an online business and you know you’ve been indulging in some self-sabotaging actions, a fresh start can pull you out of that rut and set you on a better path.
Some marketers have gone in directions that may not have been the best for their business. But as time passed, their mindset told them that it was too late to change, that too much time had passed or that the business was known for one thing or a particular project they’re no longer passionate about.
It could be that you have a failure or two attached to your business and now you’re really struggling with believing in yourself and your business idea. A fresh start can be the catalyst to help you stop self-sabotaging.
You can discover a new way of doing things and a new way of running your business. For example, you might have purchased dozens of products in the excitement of running an online empire, but you later discovered they weren’t helpful or you weren’t interested in that direction after all.
Let go of products you’re never going to use and start over with ones that you will use. Stop taking courses that haven’t been useful and you know you’re not going to complete.
Sometimes people don’t want to let go because all they can focus on his how much money they’ve spent. Instead, focus on how much time you’ll gain by ending something that’s not profitable to you.
A fresh start could mean something like using a new software for your business because the old one just isn’t working for you anymore. It could also be something like learning a new social media technique to get more traffic if the old way isn’t working.
A fresh start could be creating a new product or introducing a new service for your customers. Or it could be changing your goals. It might even mean switching niches if you have something else in mind that energized you.
Be willing to make mistakes as an entrepreneur, but be committed to moving forward. That’s the key to breaking self-sabotaging habits and transforming a business into one that will last.
It’s easy to be angry when you come to the realization that you’ve been standing in your own way this entire time. But don’t dwell on it. Instead, do what needs to be done to take corrective measures and set yourself up for long-term success!