Finding Joy in the Process: Why Progress > Perfection

You sit at your desk, fingers hovering over your keyboard, cursor blinking like it’s judging you. You just deleted the same line of code for the fourth time. The reason? It’s “not perfect.”

Sound familiar?

Whether you're a developer, designer, writer, or creator of any kind, you’ve probably battled the voice that says: “Don’t ship it until it’s flawless.” Spoiler: that voice is lying to you.

Welcome to the perfectionist’s trap, where creativity dies a slow, overly polished death. But here’s a better mantra for your life and work: progress over perfection.

Let’s talk about what that really means, and why finding joy in the process is your ultimate creative freedom.

Why “Perfect” is a Moving Target

Let’s get one thing straight: perfection is an illusion. In tech, there’s always a better tool, cleaner syntax, or more elegant solution just around the corner. If you wait until it’s perfect, you’ll never launch, write, build, or share anything.

Think about it:

• The perfect portfolio site? Will always need “one more tweak.”

  
  

• The perfect app? Will always have edge cases.

  
  

• The perfect blog post? You'll edit it forever and still find a typo.

  
  

Progress, on the other hand, is measurable. Tangible. Momentum-building. When you finish something and hit publish, imperfectly, you gain confidence, feedback, and growth. That’s way more valuable than a draft that never sees the light of day.

What Happens When You Choose Progress Over Perfection

1. You Build Faster and Learn Quicker

Every version you put out, v1, v1.1, v1.2, is a milestone. You learn something with each iteration. You see what works, what doesn’t, and what your audience actually needs. That’s impossible if you’re stuck in version-zero mode.

2. You Release the Fear of Judgment

Perfectionism is often fear in disguise. Fear of criticism. Fear of not being good enough. But progress gives you a win every time you take action. You focus less on what people might think and more on how you’re improving.

3. You Develop Resilience and Confidence

You stop tying your worth to the outcome and start finding joy in the doing. You become someone who moves forward, even when it’s messy. That’s power. That’s peace.

How to Embrace Progress Over Perfection in Real Life

Here are practical ways to lean into progress and fall in love with the process:

Start Before You’re Ready

You don’t need to know everything. Just start. The best developers, creators, and entrepreneurs started clueless. They figured it out while doing it.

“Launch now, iterate later” isn’t lazy, it’s smart.

Set Micro Goals

Instead of “Build a full-stack SaaS,” start with “Set up the landing page today.” Small goals keep you moving. Big vague ones? They keep you stuck.

Share Your Work Publicly (Even If It’s Not Done)

Post that sketch. Tweet that code snippet. Upload that rough demo. People connect with progress. They love seeing how things unfold. You become more relatable, more trustworthy, and more human.

Celebrate Each Step

Launched your site? Celebrate it. Fixed a stubborn bug? Celebrate it. Burnout happens when we ignore our wins and obsess over the destination. Progress thrives on momentum, and momentum thrives on celebration.

Learn from Feedback, Don’t Fear It

Done is better than perfect because “done” gets feedback. Feedback helps you grow. Don’t take it personally, take it professionally.

Let Joy Be Your Metric

We often measure success by results: money earned, followers gained, projects finished. But what if we measured it by something else, joy in the process?

When you enjoy building, writing, coding, designing, even when it’s imperfect, you’ve already won. Progress becomes your reward. And perfection? Just a dusty old myth you happily let go of.

So go ahead, launch that half-ready idea. Write that not-so-perfect blog post. Start that podcast with a basic mic. Ship the MVP.

Because the only thing better than perfect is done, growing, and joyful.

Stop waiting for perfection. Start moving with progress. Find joy in the messy, magical middle.

Author: David C. Igberi