You are listening to the 10 Minute Entrepreneur podcast with host Sean Castrina.

Today's going to be a great podcast. I have a professor from the London School of Economics.

I've Tom's Kern with me here today. He's the author of the perfection trap embracing the power of good enough.

He has a TED talk with over three million views. Thomas, it's great to have you on the podcast.

Great to be here. Thanks for having me. Okay. So let's talk about perfection. Why is it a? Why is it not? Why is it a trap?

So the perfection trap is my book is really trying to I suppose.

Provide a warning about the dangers of perfectionism and chasing perfection perfection is an inherently impossible goal.

What is going to be possible? So the those who chase it going to find that hopeless quest to be quite draining emotional and ultimately it's a trap because the closer we get the further it comes, it goes from our grasp.

So that's why it's a trap. And who is most likely to like I like to do things well, you know, most driven people do, but who is most likely to fall into the, you know, this idea of perfectionism.

So there's a really important to make a distinction between people with a chase for perfection and simply can't let things go.

Even if they're really excellent and people are able to persevere be meticulous, be conscientious and diligent.

All of these things are very active, optimistic ways to strive, but importantly, they can let things go and they're not quite right or when things don't go well or haven't turned out the way we hope they can learn and grow from those experiences.

So perfectionists that people find it really difficult when they encounter setbacks and keep pushing through even to the point of burnout, conscientious people, diligent, meticulous people striving the same similar ways, but they are able to let things go. So that's the difference.

So yeah, that's a good point in that we know when to let it go.

Exactly. You know, pull our chips from the table and be glad we walked away with a few.

Exactly. Yeah. When it's good enough. Yes. And so what do you find? Who do you find, you know, maybe within business and entrepreneurship and this entire space that really struggle with this perfection trap, they won't let things go. When do you know this is a problem for you?

I think the best way to tell other perfectionism is having an impact on your life is to listen to yourself and really I guess contemplate on your emotions and your feelings when on the other occasion we've done something remarkable or we've done something well.

Now, the normal reaction to that should be amazing, fantastic, a lot of pride, a lot of sense of accomplishment and achievement.

But if your first feeling is relief that you didn't screw up that you that you showed the world that you actually, you know, you were a person who's competent or has done something well.

Then that's really a sign that perfectionism is perhaps taking over because that inability to really kind of embrace achievement and accomplishment is a sure sign of someone is perfectionistic.

When you have people that can never enjoy the victory.

That's that's exactly right. Yeah. And if that's you, then there's probably a little bit of perfectionism that's driving that.

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