Why Perfectionism Hurts Physician Finances
A recent Oliver Burkeman post discussed publishing when you felt your product, whether it’s a piece of writing, art, or something similar, had reached the 70% complete mark.
I’m curious if you had the same response I did. My first reaction was, “That’s ludicrous!” I bet many physicians have the same response.
The 70% Rule: Why Done Is Better Than Perfect
Burkeman and many others argue that getting something out into the world is better than continually striving for perfection. For those of us who chase perfection, what often happens is that nothing gets completed. Perfection is a way to hide from action. Perfection is resistance showing up to stop us in our tracks.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that our entire job as physicians is acting in the face of uncertainty. We rarely know all of our patients’ medical history before I sedate or anesthetize them. I can think of a specific case where a patient gave a false name for insurance reasons and failed to disclose her pheochromocytoma. You can imagine how that operation turned out.
Why Physicians Must Act Without Knowing Everything
While physicians strive for near perfection when caring for our patients, we will never fully achieve it. But we must still act.
Where else in our lives can we apply these lessons? I can think of numerous places where I tend to hide.
For me, it might be my public writing (like… this newsletter!) Or choosing not to do a workout because I don’t have time for my regular hour in the gym.
It might be failing to text a friend and check instead of waiting for the perfectly scheduled time for a weekend getaway to catch up.
How Inaction Sabotages Your Financial Future
For others, it shows up as not saving or investing until they make more money or have a surplus left over at the end of the month. For others, it’s failing to invest until they have the optimal investing strategy, which, by the way, must be adjusted monthly.
Showing up consistently is the surest way I know to build a remarkable life. Showing up despite non-ideal conditions. Showing up, especially when you don’t feel like it.
This doesn’t mean that day will be great. But a string of days with any result greater than zero will compound. That’s the lesson. Showing up and being consistent with those areas of our life where we want to improve or build.
Taking Imperfect Action: What It Looks Like in Real Life
Our son attends an outdoor preschool. It’s a remarkable community of educators and parents. What I love is rain, snow, or sunshine, our son is outside playing and learning. This past winter, the temps were in the low teens! And the kids were outside, building a fire and playing for four hours! They didn’t care that the conditions weren’t perfect.
Financial Progress for Physicians Starts with Small Steps
Where are you resisting taking action? What is the thing you keep procrastinating on because your conditions aren’t ideal? Can you see how this resistance is making your life smaller? And perhaps most importantly, what can you do today, or this week, to take action?
Stay the course!
