Everything has a yin and a yang. Good and bad. Strength and weakness. And sometimes, the very thing that makes us successful can also be the thing that holds us back.Ancient philosophy states that all things in the universe exist as two opposing, complementary, and interconnected forces. Rather than fighting each other, these opposite energies work together and create a continuous balance of life. I know, I’ve gone deep this week. Stick with me, I promise I have a point. I think perfectionism is a great example. Wanting to do something well is undoubtedly a strength. You should have high standards, and caring about the detail, preparing properly and wanting to produce your best work are all qualities I would encourage. But there is another side to it. There’s a difference between striving for excellence and needing something to be perfect. They look very similar from the outside. But one is about growth and the other can become about protecting ourselves from judgement, criticism or getting it wrong. Perfect sounds like a compliment. “Your hair is perfect, darling,” was the first thing I thought of, apologies! But perfect can be completely paralysing. You remember that email you've rewritten six times, the article you're still tweaking, the idea you've been sitting on because you haven't quite worked out how to present it. At some point, preparation stops being preparation and becomes procrastination with very good PR. Business development, leadership and relationships can never be perfect. They involve other people, and their idea of “perfect” will inevitably be different from yours. So, what would you do if you didn't need that thing to be your version of perfect? Would you send that email? Pitch that idea? Ask for the meeting? You don't need to lower your standards or suddenly embrace mediocrity. Nothing that dramatic! Keep the standards. Lose the unnecessary pressure. Know what needs to be excellent and where the detail matters. Know where the risk needs to be managed. And then notice where you're making something harder than it needs to be because you want to feel completely certain before you move. Clarity doesn't come before action. It comes because of action. We spend so much time thinking about what might happen, the anticipation can be emotionally crippling. The answer? We grow, we take the feedback, we do it differently next time and, more often than not, realise that nothing terrible actually happened. But our version of perfect can be the reason we never get started. So this week, pick one thing you've been overthinking and ask yourself: "What would happen if I just got on with it?" And if it goes slightly wrong? That's what lawyers are exceptionally good at dealing with! Assess the risk, learn from it and take the step (leap) forward. You’re doing great! Michelle
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