Show Notes:
Do you find yourself postponing a major goal because the plan isn’t flawless, the timing isn’t perfect, or you’re waiting for everything to be “just right”? This desire for perfection before you start is a trap that leads to analysis paralysis and keeps you from making meaningful progress.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- Why the pursuit of a perfect plan or perfect timing is often an illusion that sabotages your goals.
- How the analysis paralysis trap keeps busy professionals from moving forward.
- The critical mindset shift: You don’t have to be great to start, but you must start to be great.
- Why embracing imperfect action is the best way to get started and allows you to learn, grow, and make necessary adjustments along the way.
- A direct action step to break the cycle of postponement and make immediate progress toward a goal you’ve been putting off.
Key Takeaways & Concepts
- Overcome the Fear of Failure: Recognize that no one is perfect and making mistakes is a natural, necessary part of the growth process.
- The Power of Starting: As one writer noted, “I only write when inspiration hits me. Fortunately, it hits me every morning at 6 AM.” You create the right timing by taking action.
- John Maxwell Quote: The compound results of day-in, day-out consistency (as discussed in the previous series) is what shapes your life and reputation.
Your Action Step
- Identify: Think of one goal you have been postponing because you’re waiting for the perfect plan or timing.
- Take Imperfect Action: Identify the smallest, easiest, and most immediate action you can take today toward that goal. This action should require little preparation or resources (e.g., writing one paragraph, doing 5 minutes of research, or sketching a rough outline).
- Claim Your Day: Get started now, knowing that taking imperfect action today is the only way to build momentum for a better tomorrow.
Episode Transcript
Hey my friend and welcome. Welcome to the Claim your Day podcast. Welcome to episode 18. Hopefully you caught some of that last series that we just did. It was all about being consistent. Look, it’s tough to be consistent. I know it’s a challenge. But whatever you’re trying to achieve in your life that the life that you want to live and, and how you want to pursue that, you’ve got to be consistent because it’s not that one hit wonder of just getting everything just right.
And then all of a sudden, you know, you take that massive action and then you’re able to live your best life, achieve your goals, you know, be there for your family and do everything just perfect. It does not work like that. It’s about the day in, day out consistency and that ends up shaping your whole entire life. Your reputation, what people know you for and the impact you’re able to have.
So if you missed any of that series, make sure you go back and check it out. Got a number of episodes in there hitting on different topics to help you to be consistent. But like I just mentioned about trying to get it just right. Well, we’re going to start, we’re going to dive into that today. I’m not starting a whole new series today. Got another one of those coming up for you here really soon.
It’s all about just making the most of the day that you have today. And that series is going to start soon. But today, today we’re not diving into that yet. Today we’re going to talk about a misconception, maybe a myth. It’s a trap, it really is. That you might fall into, you might be in right now. I know it catches me sometimes and I really try to guard myself against it.
And that is the trap is, or the misconception is that sometimes we believe that we have to kind of get things just right before we reflect, really start taking action and pursuing our goals. Before we do do and achieve, we’ve, we’ve got to get it just flawless. We need to make sure that there’s a clear step by step plan that accounts for everything, every contingency. And that we have to get our actions just right, our plan just right.
And the timing, the timing’s got to be just right, you know, or, or it’s not going to be perfect. And there’s no sense in doing it if it’s not perfect. We can already go see here where I’m going with, with this, in that this perfect plan and perfect timing. What if, what if they’re just an illusion? What if it’s not possible to have a perfect plan, perfect timing, or taking perfect actions.
Now you might already be thinking like, I don’t, I don’t like where Nick’s going right now. You know, maybe you’re a self proclaimed perfectionist. Maybe you say, well I, I want it just right or I want it the best that it can be. Look, I am not, I’m not saying anything bad about being excellent at your craft and wanting to be the best that you can. Not at all.
It’s this, it’s this percept, this desire for perfection before you can get started. And that’s the trap, my friend. It really is. You know, imagine somebody that wants to start a business. Well, starting a business, it can be scary, it can be risky certainly. But if you, if you didn’t start a business or you didn’t, you know, go down that path that you want for your career until you knew that everything was just perfect, it was the perfect timing.
If you had the perfect plan where nothing could go wrong, well then you’re never going to get started. You’re never going to get started. Or if you had a goal related to like say writing a book and you’re going to create this, this project is book and it’s going to take a whole lot. But you have to have the perfect manuscript. You have to get that, all that together, the perfect idea, you know, to find the perfect chair and writing place in your home or creating something that, an area that you can write in to get things just right.
And then you, then you wait for that perfect timing. So you wait for that inspiration to hit you just right. If you’re waiting for all those things, then it’s not going to happen. And I forget who said this, it was a quote. But it goes along the lines of I only, as a one of the successful writers, I only write when I want to write. When it, when, when, when the, when writing hits me.
Fortunately it hits me every single morning at 6am. What he was saying was that, you know, it’s not just about doing when you feel like whenever the timing’s perfect and everything’s just right. He said he was saying that he was creating the right timing by saying, hey, I’m gonna start, I’m gonna start at 6am and I’m just gonna get going. You know, as you’ve probably heard me say in another episode, you know, it’s like if you’re waiting for the perfect timing when you’re motivated, well, motivation doesn’t start until after you do.
So sometimes Just getting started is going to help that timing to be better because you’re going to feel like it. You know, if there’s something that you’re trying to do where you have to do a little bit of research, you need to make a plan. I’m not saying don’t make a plan by no means, but it’s that, okay, I need to do just a little bit more research on this plan.
I need to polish up this area of this plan. Or. Well, it’s. I’m a little bit busy right now, so I’m going to wait for a better timing right now. Those things will get you into a trap and then you won’t make progress. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like you were waiting just for the right moment, you know, or, you know, just the right strategy, just the right plan, or.
Or you’re waiting for things to be just right so that you can make progress or that you can really begin on a goal that’s important to you, you know, and sometimes this can be related to a fear of failure. You know, fear of making those mistakes, especially some of the ones that are more public when you’re starting a business, or if people know that you’re trying to write a new book or write a book, or if you’re going to make a career change, you know, people are going to know about that.
And when there’s pressure on you for that, then it kind of. It almost develops that fear of failure because, you know, people are going to be aware of it. Let me go ahead and give you a little bit of something that you already know. Nobody’s perfect. Anybody that might be, as you might think, might be judging you for making a mistake has made plenty themselves. It’s okay. So today we want to kind of dive into breaking apart some of these myths about this perfect plan or perfect timing or perfect actions, any of that stuff, and we’re going to embrace it.
We’re going to do this together. We’re going to embrace imperfect action. Imperfect action. You know, there’s another old saying that says, you know, you don’t have to be great to start, but you just start to be great. Well, it’s this imperfect action that’s going to allow you to start, and then you’re going to be able to improve from there. That’s where the real growth happens. It’s after you start.
So really, when we talk about. I mean, think about it. Come on, can we just agree that perfection is not possible? You wonder if that’s a perfect plan, whether it’s perfect timing or anything like that, can we just agree that true perfection is not possible? Now, I personally believe that there was only one perfect person. And we won’t have to get into that right now. But outside that, nobody, no plan, no timing is perfect.
It was like you hear kind of stories of people trying to time the stock market. No one’s got a crystal ball. No one’s got crystal ball. I’m not going to give a financial lesson right now. I’m not an expert on that. I know it works for me. And trying to time everything just perfect never, never works out for me. So I come up with a good plan and it works.
But now if we’re trying to work in the perfect timing and the perfect plan, you can also get trapped in this thing. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it before, maybe you have. It’s called analysis paralysis. And paralysis is pretty much when you get, when your body gets trapped, you know, and it can’t move for any kind of reason. And analysis is when you’re trying to figure everything out.
So basically what it is, is it’s an easy trap to get into if you want to create that best plan, that perfect plan. And then you get caught in this analysis paralysis. And all you’re doing is trying to figure things out. But by putting all your effort and your energy, your attention into figuring things out and crafting this plan, you never take any action. And I don’t care how good you get that plan, if you’re not taking action and you’re not moving forward, you’re never going to achieve the goals that you had for that plan.
And the same thing is true. If you’re waiting for that perfect timing. You know, if you’re waiting for that perfect timing just to, to get things just right, then you’re never going to take action. There’s a, an old saying, in case you can’t tell, I like quotes. And that is if you wait for all the lights to turn green, you’re never, you’re, you’ll never leave the driveway. Basically saying that if you’re waiting for things to get just right so that it’s going to be the easiest, best path, smooth ride, all that, then it’s never going to get there and you’re never going to take action.
You’re never going to move forward. I mean, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today. So if you go ahead and start taking action today, you’re going to make Progress, you’re going to be able to improve, and that’s what’s going to help you to really be able to achieve your goals and make that progress that you want. It’s that imperfect action.
It’s that good enough plan that when you can accept these, they’re not going to be perfect, that’s okay. But when you can accept it like that, then if it’s that imperfect action, well, then there’s. There’s beauty in that because you’re taking action, you’re moving forward. And what’s going to happen is that when you’re moving forward and you’re taking action, you’re going to be able to continue to improve.
That’s where the growth and the learning happens, is after you’ve started and you’re beginning to improve. Same thing with the plan that you have for the goals you want to achieve, the life you want to live. When you craft that plan, make it good, you know, do some research, ask for some help, find a mentor, a guide, something. Then once you have a good idea, a good idea of what you want to do and how you need to accomplish it, you know, and all those things that you’re going to have to do along the way, get started on it.
Get started on it. Because as you’re moving forward, you’re going to learn things and you’re going to make adjustments to that plan. That’s where the growth in your action and the growth in your plan is going to happen after you get started. But you’ll never get started if you’re holding out for everything to be aligned just perfectly so that then. Then you can get started and everything’s just right.
Okay? So all this talk about not. Not waiting for perfection, not trying to have everything exactly perfect, we’ve got. Now we got to take some action. Now here’s an action step for today, all right? I want you to think about one goal that you’ve been postponing. What’s one thing that you’ve been putting off because you’re trying to get it just right? Either, you know, the plan or the action that you’re trying to do.
What’s one goal? Something that you want to achieve, something that you want to accomplish or a way that you want to live that you have been putting off because you’re waiting for a better plan or better timing? All right, what’s one goal? Now I want you to identify one small, imperfect action that you can take today. One small step. It doesn’t have to be huge. You’re not going to radically change everything miraculously in one day and get it just perfect.
But that’s the point of this episode, is that you can take actions. You can move forward even when they’re not per. What you’re doing is not perfect, even if the timing’s not the best that it could be. All right, so what’s one of the smallest actions that you can take? Immediate actions you can take today to move toward a goal that you’ve been postponing. It doesn’t have to be something huge.
In fact, the smaller, the better it is sometimes. Cause you can get the ball rolling on it, and you can realize that I can make some progress. I can do these things even though the timing’s not perfect and. And I don’t have the perfect plan. But you think about something that just doesn’t require a lot of preparation, doesn’t require a lot of resources. You know, it’s just something that can be done in a short amount of time.
You know, maybe if it’s. If you’re thinking about writing a book, you know, this might be writing one paragraph, you might be doing just five minutes of research or sketching a rough outline. You know, if you have some health goals that you’ve been putting off and postponing, maybe it’s coming up with a very, very simple exercise schedule. Really small, really small. But the thing is, you can make a little bit of progress today, and then tomorrow you can build on that progress and make a little bit more progress.
And you know what? Tomorrow or the next day, you might find that, hey, a little bit of this adjustment to my plan or my action would be okay. Your timing is not going to be perfect, the plan is not going to be perfect, and that’s okay. My friend, I. What I want for you is I want you to make the most of the day that you have today.
And waiting for the perfect timing and waiting to craft this miraculously perfect plan and get it just right, that is not making the most of your day to day. Today, I want you to claim your day to day. And with that, you’ve got to accept just a little bit of imperfect action. You gotta take some imperfect action and make a little bit of progress. Learn some things along the way, improve along the way.
And by doing that, my friend, that’s how you’re gonna be able to, well, claim your day and live the life that you want to live. All right, well, we’re wrapping up today’s episode. You can make some progress, take some action today. It’s worth it. You’ll experience the results and the benefits of making progress today. Making the most of your day to day. Hey, I’m putting it right now.
I’m putting the finishing touches on a worksheet for you. It’s going to help you to, you know, give you your intentional day. All that is about is beginning to take some additional steps to align your actions, what you do on a daily basis with your values, your true goals and what’s true to you that ‘s most important for you, your life, your family. It’s a simple worksheet, just some little exercises.
You know what? I’m gonna give you a little bit of a spoiler. It has to do with taking some imperfect action and taking small steps and starting now. That worksheet’s going to be live here soon. It might be by the time this episode comes out, but you can always go to nick may.com for some more information and resources. All right, here’s to you, my friend. Thank you for listening.
Can’t wait to talk to you again in the next episode and claim your day. It’s worth it.