2024 October Update

Last month, we talked about how continuity is the key to long-term success—perfect or not. This month, we want to dive deeper into the idea of perfection and why striving for it often leads to failure. In a world that constantly glorifies perfection, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that anything less than “perfect” is not worth pursuing. Truthfully, perfection is a myth, and letting go of it can set you on a path to real progress.

The Myth of Perfection

We live in an age where perfection is held up as an achievable standard. Social media bombards us with images of people showing off their seemingly flawless lives, from their toned bodies and perfectly organized homes to their thriving businesses and effortless success stories. The message is clear: perfection is attainable, and anything less is a shortcoming.

You can probably manage that shortcoming if you just buy this product or attend this course.

Of course, what we don’t see behind curated social media feeds are the struggles and imperfections that come with real life. We don’t see the missed workouts, the splurge meals, the failed projects, and the financial missteps. What’s portrayed as “perfect” is often just a snapshot that took days, weeks or months to produce, carefully selected to highlight the best moments while hiding the inevitable challenges. These are designed to create a sense that something is missing in each of us, and it works.

Striving for perfection sets us up for failure because it creates an all-or-nothing mentality. If we’re not perfect, then we feel like we’re not good enough. When we inevitably fall short of that unrealistic standard, we can become discouraged, frustrated, and give up entirely.

The truth is that life is just not a zero-sum game. It’s not a game at all. Success is not a linear pathway with a perfect upward trajectory. It’s messy. It’s filled with detours, setbacks, and, yes, the occasional lapses we discussed last month. What matters is not how many times you stumble along the way, but how quickly you recover and get back on track.

The Dangers of Perfectionism

Perfectionism is more than just wanting to do your best—it’s an unhealthy obsession with flawlessness. This mindset can paralyze us and prevent us from even starting new projects or trying new things, for fear of falling short.

Imagine you set a goal to save a certain amount each month. You crush it for two months, but then life happens— an unexpected bill arrives, you give yourself a few more “little treats” than planned, the grocery bill inflates through no fault of your own. Suddenly, you’re behind. A perfectionist mindset might tell you that you’ve failed, and because you didn’t stick to the plan perfectly, you might as well give up altogether. Alternatively, or even as an extra bonus, you berate yourself for being a “bad person”. You eliminate any kind of a good time from your life. You punish yourself. And life… sucks… until you break free and make another, more significant, financial error out of sheer frustration. The cycle starts again, but becomes worse with each step.

Perfectionism robs us of resilience. It keeps us focused on the ideal outcome rather than the journey, making it harder to accept missteps as part of the process. In reality, success comes not from getting it right every time but from showing up consistently, even when things don’t go perfectly. It comes from reflecting on what is changing in you, in your life, and the world around you, and then shifting your expectations based on reality.

Embrace the “Good Enough” Mindset

One of the most effective ways to break free from the trap of perfectionism is to embrace the “good enough” mindset. This doesn’t mean lowering your standards or settling for mediocrity—it means accepting that consistent effort, even if it’s not flawless, will ultimately lead to better results than chasing perfection and burning out.

Let’s look back at that monthly saving goal. For the first few months, you’re diligent, but then you hit a snag. Your car needs a huge repair or your family has a huge, somewhat expensive, event that you cannot miss. Instead of throwing your hands up in defeat and deciding that you’ve failed, the “good enough” mindset would encourage you to acknowledge the progress you’ve made. So you didn’t save as much as you wanted this month—that doesn’t erase the fact that you’ve been building better financial habits. You’re still moving in the right direction.

The beauty of the “good enough” mindset is that it allows for flexibility and self-compassion. It recognizes that life is unpredictable and that setbacks are part of the journey. It teaches us to value progress over perfection, to keep going even when things don’t go according to plan.

The Power of Small Wins

Progress isn’t always about massive breakthroughs or perfect execution. More often, it’s about small wins that accumulate over time. These small victories might seem insignificant in the moment, but they build momentum and keep you moving forward.

Take the example of learning a new skill, like playing a musical instrument. A perfectionist might expect to master difficult pieces quickly, and when that doesn’t happen, they may feel like quitting. But the “good enough” mindset focuses on incremental improvement. Maybe you can’t play an entire song flawlessly yet, but you’ve mastered a few chords. That’s progress. Small wins, when recognized and celebrated, help build the resilience needed for long-term success.

At Spring, we diligently track our small wins every single week. A minimum of three wins, every single week, with a larger goal of 10. There’s room for lapses even in this! Every quarter, we look through them again. What progress did we make? What snags did we hit? How might we change what we are working towards, this quarter, this year, next year, and five years from now, because of all we’ve learned?

Overcoming the All-or-Nothing Mentality

The all-or-nothing mentality is one of the most damaging aspects of perfectionism. It makes us believe that if we can’t do something perfectly, we shouldn’t do it at all. This mindset is particularly common when it comes to health and fitness goals, personal finance, or even creative projects.

But the truth is, doing something imperfectly is better than doing nothing at all. Maybe you can’t go to the gym five days a week like you planned, but going twice is still better than not going at all. Maybe you forgot to track some expenses, but you’re still more mindful of your spending than you were before. Continuity is what matters—not flawless execution.

The myth of perfection keeps us from reaching our full potential. It creates unrealistic expectations and fuels an all-or-nothing mindset that leads to frustration and burnout. But when we embrace the “good enough” mindset, we give ourselves permission to be human, to make mistakes, and to keep moving forward despite setbacks.

Remember, success is not about being perfect. It’s about continuity. It’s about showing up, taking action, and making progress—even if it’s not flawless. So the next time you stumble, remind yourself that you don’t need to be perfect to succeed. You just need to keep going.

Your Spring Planning Team

Practice Notes:

Julia is in a lot of places in October, including a webinar with Vancity on intergenerational wealth transfer, a financial literacy workshop with the Shore Sirens in North Vancouver, and a session on financial planning in light of longevity and healthcare concerns with Burgundy Asset Management in Toronto (sold out!). Hope to see you there!

We’ve been asked to present at a few more events in 2024, but as mentioned in previous newsletters, time seems to be finite and we’ve run out of it for this year. Julia spoke with Rob Carrick of the Globe & Mail on that topic right here. We’re working hard on building capacity at Spring and in the profession at large, and thank you for continuing to bear with us.

Our offices will be closed on November 11th in honour of Remembrance Day.

“Free” Fridays remain booked permanently in our calendars. These days are free to us at Spring because they are our opportunity to work on becoming better planners, whether through collaboration and discussion, education, research, or even a little down time. It’s been a regular practice since the summer of 2017, and we will continue to set aside the time to become better versions of ourselves every week. Even 1% better is solidly worth it, because we know that will be reflected in the work we do for you.

Spring in the News:

Passing on your inheritance before you die is as much about how ready you are to give it up, as it is about how ready your next-of-kin is to receive it. Julia spoke with Pippa Norma of the Globe and Mail about this option, check out the full article here.

What are the biggest mistakes small companies make when setting up their organizations? Watch the full For Female Founders podcast with Sarah Bundy and Julia to find out all reasons here.

Julia provided some insight to Bored Panda about combining assts without a written agreement and how this might not be a good idea. Read the full article here.

Please check out our media page here for videos, podcasts, interviews and more.

Planning News Digest:

• Common mistakes in wills: Our friend Rose Shawlee, whom Julia has presented alongside many times, gives her top tips for how best to avoid common mistakes in wills in this article.
• The Behavioral Investor, The Law of Wealth, and Personal Benchmark: Dr. Daniel Crosby has written several excellent books about psychology and finance, including The Behavioral Investor, The Law of Wealth, and Personal Benchmark. Julia caught up with Daniel at the recent FutureProof conference in California and snagged a signed copy of his new book: The Soul of Wealth. She’s been reading it on her many flights and has found it incredibly profound and useful. It’s being released in Canada on October 15th, and you can find a copy right here on Amazon. Daniel has a podcast called “Standard Deviations” as well. If you would be interested in having Spring host a special webinar with Dr. Crosby, let us know. We might be able to swing something.
• Renting Vs Owning: Julia also met up with the team from the Rational Reminder podcast at the FutureProof festival, who are pretty fun. You might be interested in the recent article written by co-host Ben Felix in the Globe & Mail about Renting Vs Owning – and then the follow up episode addressing the more than 200 comments they received. Real estate is a touchy and personal subject in Canada; the conversation has been interesting!

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