Time to act

Do you play Wordle? I do, and I enjoy it, but I've noticed a curious thing. I have friends who post their results on their social media channels, especially if they've solved the puzzle in two tries. (Or even one try, I saw once from a particularly lucky — or skilled — friend.) Occasionally, there's a wow-I-must-be-stupid post about taking all six tries to solve it.

When I started playing Wordle, I read the instructions to "guess the Wordle in 6 tries" in a straightforward way: the goal is to guess the five-letter word. We have six tries. I can do that! Most times, anyway. It didn't occur to me that I'd want to guess it in only one try, or two, or that I cared. (Yes, I'm not a competitive person, you're seeing that, right?) I'm not criticizing others for being competitive, I'm just offering a different perspective.

If we're so focused on doing things perfectly we might forget that DOING the thing is the most important part.

Done is better than perfect.

This isn't to say I'm encouraging you not to proofread your resume or cover letter, or not to spend time on your LinkedIn profile. There's a difference between spending time on something, though, and getting so caught up in the process that you struggle over every little piece. A former fundraising colleague taught me the term "analysis paralysis," when we get so absorbed in research and exploring options that we don't act. In fundraising, of course, that doesn't work, since you do have to ask someone for a gift eventually.

So be competitive about Wordle or any other thing, if that's fun for you. But don't let the perfect stand in the way of the good. It's March and even the name of the month exhorts us to act.