The Misconception#
For the past few years, I’ve been stuck in a mental trap: pursuing value in terms of quantity and completeness, wanting everything to be the most and the best. If I couldn’t meet this standard, I felt it wasn’t worth pursuing, always setting my goals within the 80-100 range.
Some perfectionist habits I developed while working on products only made things worse. When pushing things forward, I always demanded that every detail at each stage be flawless, or at least appear polished on the surface.
But in reality, the world doesn’t operate this way. Spending too much time and energy on these details adds limited value to the overall completion of a task, often only raising it from a 60 to a 70. Yet, achieving that small improvement requires a tremendous amount of time and effort.
This is also a downside of being a cog in a mature corporate system. In such systems, the infrastructure is already highly developed, making the refinement of details seem more valuable. However, starting from scratch requires considering how to launch something with minimal cost.
Perfection#
During a counseling session in 2022, I discussed my perfectionism with my therapist. She pointed out that I basically couldn’t accept results below 80, which was why I often felt conflicted about many things. If something didn’t meet my expectations, I’d feel a sense of regret, thinking it would have been better not to do it at all.
But does striving for perfection in everything really lead to the desired outcome? In reality, it rarely does. The factors influencing outcomes are usually multifaceted, and personal effort often plays only a minor role. We should do our best in everything, but we must also accept that the results may not meet our expectations.
This perfectionist mindset has had a negative impact on me, increasing the cost and expectations of starting anything. In the past couple of years, I often suffered from the pain this mindset caused, always feeling that I needed perfect preparation before I could begin anything.
The result? After a while, I hadn’t accomplished anything. Without starting, there was no room for subsequent iteration.
Change#
“Humans are reactors to their environment.”
The best way to change a behavioral pattern is to change the environment, allowing yourself to reshape habits and develop new ones. Over the past six months or so, I’ve adjusted my pace of life, slowed down, observed and examined my existing habits, and gradually simplified, merged, or eliminated them, ultimately retaining only those habits that are beneficial in the long run.
During this process, I’ve tried to live with the simplest structure possible, running each thing at the lowest cost, no longer striving for optimal results. The priority is to get things started, continuously evaluate the process, and then decide whether to invest more. Only then comes iteration, along with considering the ongoing maintenance costs.
Based on my “INTJ” personality traits, working independently and with minimal connections is more effective for me than entering a corporate system. If a company operates on a tightly integrated logic, it might not be the right fit for me.
A Small Thing#
In my bathroom, there’s an exhaust fan whose vent faces the windward side of the building. Every time I open the door for ventilation, the wind blows in through the vent, creating a loud whooshing sound that irritates me.
So, I researched the fan’s dimensions and installation method and bought a suitable replacement online. The new fan has an extra flap to prevent the wind from blowing back in.
After installing it, I noticed a small issue: the flap has only one pivot and relies on a small weight to withstand wind pressure, but the weight isn’t enough, causing the flap to swing and knock constantly.
Although the fan no longer spins, it introduced a new knocking problem. In the past, my approach would have been to return or replace it, going back and forth for days.
But this time, I changed my mindset. Solving the knocking problem seemed easier. I went downstairs, bought some transparent tape, and taped the flap to the duct, adding a few folds in between to act as a buffer for ventilation when the fan is in use. The problem was perfectly solved at a low cost, and the maintenance is minimal.
This is the small incident that has moved me the most recently. I hope everyone can shift their mindset, turning big problems into small ones and small ones into none. Good enough is good enough!
Further Reading#
He Caitou: Join a Group to Exchange Learning Experiences
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