Weekly Lesson #2
Introduction
Stop waiting for the perfect moment—it doesn’t exist.
The phrase progress over perfection may sound cliché, but it’s one of the most important mindset shifts you can make. I used to fall into the trap of waiting until I felt “ready” before taking action, convincing myself I needed more preparation or better conditions. This was especially true in my fitness journey—I believed if I couldn’t do something perfectly, it wasn’t worth doing at all.
But here’s the truth: perfection is an illusion. Waiting for it keeps you stuck.
By the end of this post, you’ll have practical steps to shift your mindset and start making progress—even when conditions aren’t ideal. Let’s get into it.
The Lesson
“Progress > Perfection”
ZBLessons #2
Many people fall into the all-or-nothing mindset—if they can’t do something perfectly, they don’t do it at all. They wait for the “right time” instead of making the most of the present moment.
I used to be one of them. My fitness and blogging journeys taught me this lesson the hard way.
There were days I felt exhausted, short on time, or simply unmotivated to train and I knew if I did, it wasn’t going to be a perfect session. My instinct? Skip the session entirely. If I couldn’t give 100%, why bother? Looking back, that mindset was ridiculous. In what world is doing nothing better than doing something, even if it’s just 10, 20, or 30 percent of what I originally planned?
Over time, I realized that even the smallest effort compounds. Meanwhile, waiting for “perfect conditions” leads to no progress at all.
This mindset appears when people put off starting a project because they don’t have every detail planned, or when they hesitate to try something new out of fear of failure. But success isn’t about perfection—it’s about consistent action, no matter the circumstances.
Why I Prioritized Perfection Over Progression
Why do we do this? Why does it feel demotivating when conditions aren’t perfect—even when we know taking action is the key to progress?
I can’t speak for everyone, but I can share what I believe caused me to fall into this mindset. Hopefully, you can relate, and in the next section, I’ll share what I did to correct it.
For me, it boiled down to three key reasons:
1. Underestimating small progress
2. Setting unrealistic expectations for progress
3. Fear of failure and judgment
Underestimating Small Progress and Unrealistic Expectations of Progress
People dismiss small progress because it feels insignificant in the moment. And if they can’t make a huge, unrealistic leap toward their goal, they assume there’s no point in trying at all.
These two factors—underestimating small gains and expecting unrealistic large progress—go hand in hand. They ignore a key truth: small progress compounds over time. What seems like a minor 1% improvement today can lead to massive results over months and years.
In reality, there’s no such thing as small gains—because consistency in the long term turns them into big ones.
Plus, showing up for the small wins builds the habit of showing up—period. And that habit ensures you’re there when bigger opportunities come for more progress.
The real mistake isn’t making slow progress—it’s doing nothing at all.
Micheal Phelps – known for his relentless work ethic and being the GOAT of Olympic swimming – talks about how he trained every single day for six years and how showing up to train even when you can’t get a perfect session done is crucial.
“During the days where I didn’t want to go – or I was tired, sore, this that or the other – I still went. Because if I’m going to go to practice and I’m going to get 10%, 20%, 30% out of that day, it’s better than getting zero.”
Micheal Phelps
Fear of Failure and Judgement
Perfectionism often comes from a fear of failure and judgment. We hesitate to take action because we worry that any mistake will expose our shortcomings, making others see us as less capable. This leads to overthinking, procrastination, and an unwillingness to share imperfect work.
This fear held me back for a long time in my blogging journey. It took me years to build the courage to publish my thoughts online. Because if I didn’t think my work was perfect, what would other people think?
But if you’re not prepared to fail, you cannot succeed. There is no success without failure—it’s a necessary part of the process.
Micheal Jordan sums it up perfectly in his famous Nike commercial –
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Micheal Jordan
(AI generated Micheal Jordan image)
How To Apply This Lesson
Now, let’s get practical. Here’s how I overcame these mindset traps and learned to prioritize progress over perfection.
Overcoming the “Small Progress Paradox” and Unrealistic Expectations of Progress
The key is a simple mindset shift: there’s no such thing as small progress—only progress that feels small in the moment.
Many people judge their progress based on right now rather than how it compounds over time. When they don’t see immediate impact, they assume their efforts are meaningless. But progress is like compound interest—at first, it seems slow, but over time, small gains create massive results.
How to Develop This Mindset
It all comes down to the goals you set and the timeframe you focus on.
For example, my goal is to run a sub-19-minute 5K while only training once a week. At first, I thought, What’s the point? Even after a year, I might only shave off a couple of minutes. That made training feel discouraging.
But when I stretched my timeline to 3–4 years, everything changed.
Suddenly, those small improvements—just a few seconds faster each week—felt meaningful. I wasn’t thinking, I’m only improving by a few seconds. Instead, I thought, If I improve by a few seconds each week for years, I’ll hit my goal—and maybe even surpass it.
That shift made all the difference.
I no longer doubted whether I would reach my goal—I knew I would. It was just a matter of showing up and letting time do the rest.
At first, accepting that big goals take time is frustrating. But once you do, the pressure lifts. You stop chasing overnight success and start focusing on consistent improvement.
But you don’t have to take it from me, take this advice from one of the American West Coast OG’s – Ice Cube:
“If you ain’t ready to put five years of grind into anything without making a quarter, don’t even start. Sometimes it takes that long to get over the hump.”
Ice Cube/O’shea Jackson
So, whenever I’m debating whether to take action—knowing the situation isn’t perfect or won’t yield maximum progress—I shift my perspective. Instead of focusing on what I won’t achieve in the short term, I ask myself:
What would happen if I made even this small amount of progress consistently for five years?
This mindset ensures that all my goals are set with the long term in mind.
Malcolm Gladwell highlights this idea in his book Outliers, where he introduces the 10,000-hour rule—the idea that mastery in any field requires approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. He points to The Beatles as a prime example:
(AI generated image of The Beatles)
Before they became one of the greatest bands in history, they spent years playing grueling, marathon gigs in Hamburg, Germany—sometimes performing 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. No single performance was a breakthrough, but the sheer volume of practice compounded over time, sharpening their skills and turning them into one of the most polished live bands ever.
Each session, no matter how small, contributed to their overall mastery—not overnight, but through relentless consistency.
Now, think about your own goals. What would happen if you put in your 10,000 hours or 5 years?
To get you inspired to embrace small, consistent improvements like The Beatles did, here’s one of the most powerful speeches in sports movie history.
In Any Given Sunday, Al Pacino (playing a football coach) delivers an unforgettable speech about fighting for the inches—the small, seemingly insignificant gains that ultimately make the difference between winning and losing (not only in football, but in life).
In our case, those inches represent the 1% improvements we make daily. They may not feel like much in the moment, but over time, they add up to massive progress.
(he starts talking about the inches at 1:40 incase your short on time)
Gives me chills every time.
Overcoming Fear of Failure and Judgement
I won’t pretend I’ve fully conquered this—I still struggle with putting out content. But I can tell you what helped me get to the point of even writing these posts in the first place.
For me, it comes down to two simple truths:
If you want to succeed, failure is necessary.
And when it comes to judgement—if it’s useful, take it. If not, ignore it.
I always think about my favorite soccer player as a child when it comes to failure. In an interview with CBS Sports (link to interview here – Timestamp: 10:30), Thierry Henry credited part of his success to a key trait: having the confidence to express himself without fear of making mistakes.
When playing at Highbury (Arsenal’s old home ground), he said:
“I knew I could do what the f*** I want.”
Thierry Henry
That mindset stuck with me.
I try to bring that same energy to my life and my blog posts—giving myself the freedom to express, take risks, and experiment without worrying about making mistakes. Because when you stop fearing failure and judgment, you unlock a new level of creativity and confidence. You trust your instincts rather than letting external factors dictate your actions.
That said, ignoring all feedback isn’t the answer either. There may be harsh truths you need to hear in order to grow. The key is learning to filter judgment—to take in what’s genuinely helpful and discard what isn’t.
If feedback is constructive, I take it on board. If not, it’s irrelevant.
I won’t say I’ve mastered this—criticism can still be harsh, and sometimes it’s tough to ignore even when you know it’s not useful. But this is the mindset I aim for.
I’ll end here with a photo from my dad’s office of one of my favorite quotes “The man in the arena” –
Conclusion
Final Thoughts: Just Take the First Step
At the end of the day, perfection is the enemy of progress. If you wait for ideal conditions, you’ll stay exactly where you are. But if you commit to showing up—imperfectly, consistently—you’ll be miles ahead of where you started.
Every small action compounds. Every imperfect step builds momentum. The key isn’t getting it right the first time—it’s refusing to stay stuck.
So, the choice is yours:
Keep waiting for the perfect moment or start making progress today.
Want to Build an Even Stronger Mindset?
This lesson was all about fixing a poor mindset. If you’re interested in diving deeper into how to develop a winning mindset, check out last week’s lesson, where I break down the four main controllable factors for success—mindset being one of them—and how to use them to your advantage.
