4 Reasons Perfectionism and Overthinking Are Stifling Your Success

Hey Friend!

The more I get to know my students and the more I participate in masterminds with my peers, the more I begin to understand the overarching problems and prevalence of two things: perfectionism and overthinking. As I watch people struggle with these two things, I see how it stifles success.

Perfectionism keeps us in a state of constant learning and growth. Redoing things over and over, and thinking that we can’t move forward until they meet some elusive standard. Overthinking is similar, but in a different way.

• It’s going round and round, thinking, is this good enough?
• It worries me about what others are going to think of me.
• I’m wondering if I’m not doing things the right way.
• It’s thinking, should things be this way or that way?

There’s so much swirling around that it hinders us from actually taking action, moving forward, and ultimately finding success. To succeed, we need one thing: action. And then, of course, all the other stuff after that, consistency, discipline, and optimization.

You chose this life, friend. Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. It takes:

• Energy
• Effort
• Resilience
• Will
• Discipline

But it’s so worth it! I promise you can do this if you just let go of the old habits that hold you back. In this blog post, we’re going to talk about two things: perfectionism and overthinking. I’m going to share with you four reasons these are stifling and hurting your success. And we’ll talk about what you can do about it. Let’s dig in.

The Traps of Perfectionism and Overthinking

I know how exciting it is to start a new project. Anything new for me is so motivating. Maybe you’re ready to launch a podcast, start a course, or you’re beginning to coach. But because it’s new or perhaps because you have a specific personality type, you want this to be perfect.

You want whatever it is to be successful so much that you might unknowingly rob yourself and your business because you’re falling into the traps of perfectionism and overthinking. I think that they are traps. Why? They cause you to get stuck, procrastinate, and ultimately hurt your retention and conversion rates.

Let’s talk about why I think these are hurting you and what you can do to overcome them. That’s the big struggle, right? How can you avoid getting stuck in the traps of perfectionism and overthinking?

Reason One: Perfectionism and Overthinking Stifle Creativity

The first reason perfectionism and overthinking are hurting your success is that they stifle creativity. Creativity is essential for being an excellent podcaster.

• Coming up with ideas
• Allowing those ideas to flow and flourish
• Thinking about an offer like coaching or courses

Perfectionism and overthinking trap you inside your head, making it impossible for you to come up with new ideas. Right? Because you’re going to swirl, overthink, compare, and redo. It’s not giving you that creative liberty to test and to try, and permission to fail.

Let Your Mind and Your Spirit Rest from Perfectionism

So the solution to this is to take a step back and let your mind and your spirit rest. If you find your creativity stifled, like you don’t know what to create, you don’t know what episode to put out, you don’t know how even to start this project. If you find yourself in perfectionism or overthinking, you’re probably in one of these traps.

Set aside about 30 minutes to have a moment with yourself and God and journal through it. I like to write out the worst thing that can happen to me and how I can push through it.

We want to break free of that block so that we can move forward. Journal, take a step back and just have a moment to rest. Get rejuvenated, then come back to the table and let your creativity flow.

Reason Two: Perfectionism and Overthinking Lead To Procrastination

Perfectionism and overthinking can lead to procrastination, which in turn hurts you as an online business owner. Why? Until you move forward, have a little bit of failure, and gather some data under your belt, you can’t optimize.

When you’re constantly overthinking and trying to make something perfect, it’s easy to procrastinate. You’re gonna delay. You might take long breaks or put the task off until the last minute because, ultimately, you’re afraid of failure. Let’s call it what it is.

Break Down Tasks Into Small, Manageable Mini-Steps to Avoid Perfectionism

I believe the solution here is to break down your tasks into small, manageable mini-steps. Commit to completing the first step. Then, commit to completing the next one. And the next one. Take it one step at a time.

Once you see progress, you’ll start to create momentum that will help you keep going. This gives you the confidence not to overthink things so much and not hold yourself to such high standards, because you’re seeing results that are moving you forward.

Reason Three: Perfectionism and Overthinking Cause You to Underestimate Your Talents

The third reason perfectionism and overthinking are hurting your success is that they cause you to underestimate your talents. These traps make you think you have to be the best before you can even get started.

It creates this belief that maybe you’re not good enough, that somebody’s going to judge you, or that you’re going to fail. When you hold on to those beliefs, it gives you a lack of confidence, and you underestimate yourself.

Find Ways to Build Your Confidence and Eliminate Perfectionism

The solution here, friend, is to find ways to build your confidence. I want to suggest a few different ways you can do this.

• Take Action: Once you show yourself you can do something, you raise the lid a little bit. I’ve talked about that a lot on the show.
  
• Create a Support Network: People who are going to be in your corner, who are going to lift you when you’re having a moment. I recommend setting up a peer-led mastermind group. I’ve had mine for a couple of years. We can get on Voxer and whine and cry to each other and then get a swift kick in the pants and get back to work. You can also get in my Facebook community and chat with other like-minded business owners.
  
• Read Personal Development Books: Get in the Bible, listen to podcasts, and then identify your strengths.
  
• Serve People Where You’ve Been: I tell my students this all the time: you’re creating your podcast, brand, and business, but to serve people where you’ve been.

Free Yourself from Perfectionism and Do It Imperfectly

It’s okay to start messy. Honestly, I was able to build a seven-figure business on my own. And, quite frankly, it was with a busted branding job that I had done myself on a website I had put together. It wasn’t the best. Now I know better. But at the time, I thought, “This is fine, it’s great.”

I don‘t have the perfectionism gene. I think it helps me and it also hurts me in some ways, but I was able to move forward and have a profitable business piecing things together. There are some things that I will recommend to you when you join Podcast to Profit that I think are non-negotiable.

If you underestimate yourself, you won’t show up for it. You’re going to keep waiting and feel less than others and not move. This is super critical that you break free from that.

Reason Four: Perfectionism and Overthinking Make the Decision-Making Process Difficult

The fourth reason perfectionism and overthinking are hurting your success is that they make the decision-making process difficult. Believe it or not, all of you are CEOs. Congratulations! As a CEO, you are a business owner. If you’re going to be a CEO, you’re going to have to make decisions.

Let’s be honest, you’re on your own. Like when you started this whole thing, you were on your own. You are making decisions like:

• What software to use
• Investing in a course
• Hiring a coach
• Color schemes
• Content creation

Life is full of these decisions. Nobody is telling you what to do anymore. Which is what you wanted, but it does come with responsibilities. It’s unavoidable that you’re gonna have to make decisions.

Perfectionism and overthinking are going to make this process hard for you because you’re worried, right? Am I gonna make the wrong choice? Am I gonna do something that won’t appeal to my listeners or future customers?

The fear of making mistakes is so paralyzing that it can even cause you to miss opportunities. Some of the most significant opportunities for me have come from asking. They have come from trying and showing up even when I didn’t feel adequate.

So often, I still don’t feel adequate. I don’t feel like I deserve to be somewhere. But I have to decide to show up because if God has opened the door, I’m gonna walk through it. And so should you.

Reframe Perfectionism by How You Think About Mistakes

The solution here is to reframe how you think about mistakes. Instead of looking at them as failures and being judged, or beating yourself up, look at them as opportunities for growth, to learn, get better, and optimize.

I wouldn’t be sitting here today with all the crazy success the show and business have had, and the fantastic team that I have, if I hadn’t made so many mistakes along the way. If I had been overthinking everything and trying to make it perfect before taking action, I wouldn’t have been able to make the mistakes that ultimately led me to this beautiful learning process that landed me here.

I want you to know that you can overcome these traps. I truly believe that God calls you. He equips you, and you have everything that you need to show up and start. You may not have everything you need to reach your end goal yet, but you have enough to start. That‘s all you need, because, with God, anything is possible, right?

Don’t Let Perfectionism and Overthinking Hinder Your Success

How can you work through these perfectionism and overthinking patterns and traps that you find yourself in? Try working through some of the solutions I’ve talked about in this post. I don’t want you to be hindered or your success delayed because you’re procrastinating. I don’t want you to underestimate yourself and not make quick decisions. It can stifle your creativity.

There’s freedom from this, but it takes work and intentionality. I encourage my students to show up, put their heads down, and keep pushing forward consistently. Do the job, not perfectly, but to the best of your ability, and follow a proven plan. Put one foot in front of the other and then trust God with the rest of it.

Perfectionism and Overthinking Are Selfish

If you look up and allow yourself to worry about what the other person thinks, you will make zero progress. I’m going to be frank with you. You were created in the image of God to be His hands and feet. You were designed to be salt and light. Not moving forward is selfish. It’s a protection mechanism for you, and it’s hurting the people you were called to help.

• God has perfectly chosen people for you
• He’s given you a message
• He’s given you trials and experiences
• He’s given you things you are meant to bring to the world

It’s the enemy who tries to trick you with perfectionism and overthinking and all these other little things that he puts before you. Instead of leaning on them, I want to encourage you to push through them. Be completely unavailable for those traps.

I have my traps that I work through, but I push through them daily, and I consistently show up, even when it’s uncomfortable. Somebody wise told me last week about something else in my life that is a trap for me.

She said, “Lean into it!”

It’s like everything inside of you is gonna tell you to pull back, to wall up, to push away. Lean in. Lean into that discomfort. Go there and watch how quickly your comfort zone expands. You’re gonna be able to weather it. And man, she was right.

I wanted to pass that wisdom on to you and hope that it will encourage you, bless you, and stretch you today.

4 Reasons Perfectionism and Overthinking are Stifling Your Success: A Recap

Let’s recap everything we’ve learned today, friends. Here are the negative side effects of perfectionism, and here’s what it does to you and your kingdom business:

1. Stifles creativity
2. Leads to procrastination
3. Causes you to underestimate your talents
4. Makes the decision-making process difficult

I pray this blesses you!

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