Perfection, Where Progress Goes to Die

I’m guessing your first reaction to that title was surprise or maybe even skepticism. Honestly, I’d feel the same. It sounds dramatic, maybe even like bad clickbait (the shameless kind). But no, I really mean it.

Fair warning: this is less of a chronicle and more of a rant.

You’ve probably sucked at something before. We all have. And you know how draining that can be, on your ego, your self-worth, and your ability to get anything done. You feel slow, clumsy, maybe even a little ashamed. And if you're as self-conscious as I am, you start to feel like you're wasting your own potential.

So, you do what most of us eventually do. You get better. You grind, you learn, you practice. And slowly, that feeling begins to shift. You're no longer the person fumbling around. You’ve become good, really good.

Low self-esteem? Gone.
Imposter syndrome? Eased.
Happy? Very likely.

You reach a point where your actions become automatic. What used to take conscious thought now flows effortlessly. You don’t just know what to do. You feel it. And that’s a great place to be.

For most things, this kind of mastery is exactly what we strive for. Any improvements after that are usually minor, marginal gains that don’t drastically change the outcome.

But in some cases, not many but not few either, the real growth lies beyond that so-called perfection. And the next level isn’t just about doing the same thing better. Sometimes, it’s about doing it differently.

See, we get so comfortable with our current toolset, workflow, or mindset that we forget alternatives even exist. Worse, we convince ourselves there aren't better ways. But what if the very tools you're mastering are slowly becoming obsolete? You might not notice, because your hands are rusting right alongside them.

Other times, we do notice, but we’re so used to the old way that we can’t bring ourselves to let go. Not because it’s right, but because it’s familiar.

That’s when perfection becomes the enemy.

So stretch. Experiment. Question the habits that once made you excellent. You might not end up changing your tools at all, and that’s okay. Sometimes, the value lies not in what you find, but in the fact that you searched. The exploration itself can spark creativity, renew curiosity, or simply remind you that you’re still capable of wonder. And honestly, even if nothing changes, isn’t that process worth something?

Maybe that’s its own chronicle too 🤔

Don’t let perfection be where progress goes to die.

Chronicles of Yimnai