When your contribution is "good enough," you can see that it is part of a larger goal and supports the plan and the others working for the same purpose.
When it is “excellent,” you recognize that it will be judged for what it is and any larger goal it might support.
When it is “perfect,” you likely have spent too much time on it and short-changed others working with you. The perfection of one contributor can reduce the impact of the others and may seem like an overreach. Some of the others who supported the same effort may have had to wait for your excellent work to be completed flawlessly.
“Perfection is the enemy of progress”
- Winston Churchill
Why would that be the case? One reason would be the fear of failure that comes with a goal of perfection. Obsession with perfection is likely motivated, at least in part, if not totally, by pride.
“Too often, people mistake progress for perfection.
They spend more time staring at the weeds than assessing the forest. They need to catch up on the details instead of asking whether their work is moving them in the right direction. And most of all, they are confused about the meaning of “done.” (quote from Forbes 2017 Why Perfection Is The Enemy Of Done)
C.S. Lewis said, "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.”
Why do we strive to EXCEL? Is it for our "self-image"- Pride, or is it to give thanks for our abilities and to help others through our contribution to a goal?
Does the comparison or your results make you proud? Is it the pleasure of being above the rest? Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.” If you continually tackle each project with the goal of perfection and can not stop until you have achieved it, you may often miss the point of the project and your role in it.
If a project points to you and your part in what it is, then you may rightfully feel perfection is needed. That would be something to be very proud of, wouldn't it? If the project points to the efforts of many, then your results should lift everyone rather than diminish their contribution.
Quotes: C.S. Lewis Link to Forbes Magazine, “Why perfection is the enemy of done.”