Most of us have had the experience of starting a new project at least once. It must feel thrilling, yet no matter how hard you try, the project just… stops. We come up with different excuses: feeling unmotivated, being way too busy to pursue it, or burning out. However, you most likely stop seeing it as something perfect, so you drop it. What usually holds people back from finishing their projects is their perfectionism.

Perfectionism can delay or even crash our plans. Jon Acuff, the author of the book, struggled with it as well. Once, at the beginning of the year, he set a goal to exercise regularly. It was going smoothly for a while: in three months, he managed to run over 70 miles in total. Yet, in May, the mileage decreased to 8 and then to 3. Soon, Jon just gave up exercising.

He realized that a pervasive thought crossed his mind — you shouldn't continue if that's not perfect. The problem here is that this way of thinking is threatening. People should understand that nothing is ideal in our world. You can’t be sure about how your plans go. Yet, you shouldn't limit yourself to being the best, as you'd never achieve your goals with this mindset. Accept that imperfections are entirely normal, and you're ready for them. At best, that's when the work begins.

Typically, imperfections come when you aren't ready for them at all. Think back to all those times you got down to work, but some difficulties appeared, and you had to deal with them. The way you overcome those imperfections affects the success of achieving your goal.

What also sets achievers apart from quitters is their actions the next day after something terrible happens. Did you just binge-eat a few bags of chips late at night? Or did you drop the course after getting one bad grade? Instead of giving up, try to come to peace with imperfections and continue to pursue your goal. Pushing yourself to believe that perfection is the only way to succeed is useless. Perfectionism is an obstacle between you and a successful project.