It’s a constant struggle for me. My entire life I’ve let perfection be the enemy of “good enough.” Nothing wrong with striving for perfection until you let it cripple your efforts to do anything. Part of it is the way I was raised. My dad was a perfectionist and had a “do it right or don’t bother” philosophy. I finally started woodworking and doing repairs/etc around the house in the last couple years. Every last project I have to keep reminding myself that good enough really can be good enough.

Anyone else have a problem with this mindset? Drives me nuts.

Yes sir.

So hard on myself you'd think I was Viagra.

Sometimes I'm envious of my brother and others that SEEM to be moer go with the flow.

But it's made me accomplish things most wouldn't.

I don't consider myself very above ordinary, though some would disagree. I wouldn't exactly say I have low self-esteem, but I'm not often happy with my results.

Yeah, I'm hard on myself.

I'm too hard on myself also, but I try hard not to let it get in the way of progress.

As Mrs. Flash told a friend last week, if Flash hit 25/25 when shooting skeet, he'd complain that he didn't hit them all perfectly in the middle.

I’m that way too, and my dad was a Boeing engineer and a complete perfectionist.
My wife and her dad are kinda the opposite, so sometimes we go round and round about how things should be done. Her dad was a Kansas farmer and of course fixed things however he could and still does. I call them hackers and my wife gets so pissed at me!
I did a little heating system for a friend last week, he had a bunch of material from other jobs. The last thing we hooked up was return air and the flex duct he had was just a little shorter than I would have liked but we stretched it to work. I wanted to go get some hard pipe for it.
It’s still bothering me even though he says it’s fine.
I drive myself crazy!

It drives me up the wall to see my wife fold towels with the flappy ends pointing out.

Put that damn thing in there with the folded side facing you.

Does that show how seriously I take things lol.

Pretty hard on myself, especially as I get older. I see myself falling into “that looks like some old man did that work!”

I’m losing my self confidence on doing jobs around the house at times. But I’m pretty stoked, replaced two commodes without any hiccups within a week.

As I do things I find myself rechecking critical measurements multiple times, for instance my 67 Pontiac was missing a trunk emblem ever since the deck lid was replaced during its restoration. Kept meaning to get back to the shop but an emergency hospitalization threw everything off and for years I just ignored it not being there.

They started reproducing them and during the stay at home period in early 2020 I decided it was time. I asked on a couple of FB groups and got the measurements. I probably spent two hours plotting where it went, marking center line of the lid, distance from tip of the emblem to the bottom lip of the lid and on and on. Still was uneasy when I drilled the first hole. Took more time that if we had done it during the bodywork phase, it would have been drill and screw it down.

I had a job in the USAF which demanded 100% perfect accuracy, no excuses.
Now retired, I shave about twice a week and fix stuff with duct tape...

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
… My entire life I’ve let perfection be the enemy of “good enough.” Nothing wrong with striving for perfection until you let it cripple your efforts to do anything. …

That’s very close to describing me. I think the main reason that I developed this trait is because I constantly tried to set a good example for my younger brothers. The worst part is it didn’t work.

Very hard. To the point of it not being a healthy habit.

Somehow, however, I don’t have an earnest desire to change.

"Hard on myself" is pretty much my middle name. Even other people have commented on this.

I just told my wife about this thread.
She says “y’all are just crazy as hell”.
I tried to tell her doing things the right way is not crazy but I might as well bang my head on the wall, she just doesn’t get it.

Yup.

I'm always telling myself to do more and try harder.

The OCD doesn't help either.

Harder on myself than anyone I know. I realize I can't be perfect but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try and I figure if I lower my standards for myself my results will probably reflect it. I believe that more people shouldn't just accept "good enough".

Extremely.

"Overkill" was one of my call signs.

Very hard on myself. Good was never good enough. sometimes it worked to my advantage, but mostly it didn't!!

Very had on myself and very driven. I have a hard time sitting still when I know there are things that need to be done.

Thankfully I never had this problem. I have an innate lazy streak which because I am actually driven manifests itself in the form of efficiency.

I live by a combination of “the perfect is the enemy of the good” and Col Cooper’s quote about not becoming preoccupied with inconsequential increments. Add in a dash of the Pareto Principle and we’re all set.

That said, I can hand load precision rifle ammo to near perfection and enjoy that process…

As a cop, I would lie in bed and go over the previous shifts events over and over again in an endless highlights reel. Wondering if I handled things right. And what I could have done better. This was reinforced by command staff with the usual woulda, coulda, shoulda review of any event of any significance. It took me years to adapt this policy:
Do the best you can, with what you have, when you can. And dont look back.
I go right to sleep now. I find that most people are their own worst critics.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
Anyone else have a problem with this mindset? Drives me nuts.

I used to.

At this stage in my life, a few things are clear. I'm not the ace of the base. Not even close. My shooting skills are inadequate. I can hit the broad side of a barn, but you'd really have to look to find the holes. I'm not particularly fast. Until Covid, I was enjoying about three shoots a week, nothing seriously, friendly competitions. Always fell right in the middle. I've never been satisfied with my writing. I'm not a lady-pleaser. Had a few kids, she didn't complain, but I'm hardly a catch. Academically, I'm best described as a shrug. I can't cook. I look like the guy who cleans the fryer traps on Saturday night, but is really a serial rapist. I have bad teeth, don't much care for people, can barely match socks, and yes, I pick my nose.

I used to be hard on myself. There comes a point of acceptance. I do my best, it will never be THE best, and I'm fine with that.