How do you handle your own perfectionism?

I’d probably take it apart myself and return it…..having said that,sometimes you just have to live with certain things.
Yep,I’d take it out.
Sorry

I’ve really let go of my past perfectionism, it really serves no purpose other than to keep one in a state of anxiety.

If something really bothers you then fix it to your liking, but, in general, perfectionism is stifling and counter productive.

Most of which is only obvious to the perfectionist and nobody else. lol

I have a friend that is always complaining about her house being dirty, I have NEVER seen it even close to what I would consider ‘dirty.’

I’m in the ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ camp. Life is too short to allow yourself to be controlled by the disease of perfectionism.

Take it out and get what you wanted and ordered. It’s extra work but you will be happier with the finished results. It would drive me crazy and make me mad at all the extra trouble but I would have had that out already.

I’m picturing that you ordered white and it came in tan. But I was wondering how close is the color to what you ordered? If it’s really far off, then how can it work in your bathroom? It seems to me you have to return it. Charge them for the labor, too, if you can. If it is close in color, then I’d leave it, but complain to the company that sold it to you and demand a refund of some kind.

We actually ordered biscuit, since the rest of the bathroom is almond, and it came in white.

I’m especially perfectionist in things I make myself (situations like yours, where the flaw doesn’t reflect on me, rarely bother me). But I see that this is really just an ego manifestation; the flaw bothers me because it doesn’t show me at my best. Knowing that makes it easier for me to just let it go (I try hard not to pander to my ego).

The Japanese have an aesthetic tradition of appreciating flaws, often trying not to make things too perfect. This meshes with the Buddhist understanding of “perfection in imperfection”: things are perfect just as they are, flaws and all. I also remember seeing a piece about a master artisan cabinetmaker (American, I think) who built a magnificent wardrobe—museum quality—and at the end found it too “precious”. So he pounded a big old gnarly nail into the front of it and left it there, bent and protruding. He was right. That nail gave it life.

Reflecting on all this makes me less anal about it all. It starts on a personal level, not being ashamed of my weaknesses and occasional failures, but seeing my own imperfections as an inevitable, and beautiful part of being human. Out of that personal assessment comes a willingness to let others see those flaws, in me and my work. From there, tolerance of flaws in others and in the environment is only a short step.

You say it looks very nice. If the difference isn’t substantial enough that you noticed it before the job was done, you may want to just live with it. It’s up to you. Trade off the work of disassembly, shipping and hassle of having no sink for weeks versus the look with the level of mismatch. If you had to take it apart yourself, ship it back, and install the replacement, would the improvement that yeilds be worth the effort?

@janbb that would bother me. I would take it out and replace it especially because you’re probably going to want to keep it that way for a few years. I couldn’t stand staring at something that was that amiss for that long.

(from one perfectionist to another :-P)

I build my own cabinets and would only have myself to blame and I do that a lot!!

Go get the right sink you will be happier for it!

I don’t know what I would do in your case.

I battle my perfectionism daily.

I handle my perfectionism by procrastinating. I’m sure I could find a more productive way to do this, but the procrastinating part is fun. ;P

I subcontract it to my wife. It’s her hobby. Makes us both happy.

I’m having a hard time figuring how you could spend the time installing the new sink and not notice it was white. If everything else in the bathroom is almond, you have to take it out and send it back. If there is anything else white, you can make your color scheme almond and white. White towels, rugs, waste basket etc would make it all blend into the two-tone theme and you’d not notice it anymore.

Update: We have decided to take it out and luckily the caulking has not yet completely set.

Two fisted and pissed out of my mind.

@janbb I’m glad it worked out for you.

I have learned to balance the make do mentality with my perfectionism. If it’s too expensive (counting time and trouble) than make do.

@janbb: I’m terrible about things like this. After my husband spent a long time hanging a drape rod for me and even hanging the drapes. I realized it wasn’t (the middle support) centered. I understood the problem he faced, but let’s just say a trip to the local home improvement store, some drywall and other items, and touch up paint…well, it was fixed.

It drives me batty. I probably need help for this issue.

I couldn’t have accepted white. I’m glad you’ve taken it out because it would flash into my mind every once in a while and just be wrong!

Yes, I would take it out… some things you just can’t compromise on!

I’ve tried to change my perfectionism but I just don’t think it works… We have high standards for a reason, we know what we want and we want to go and get it. I relate this specifically to my assignment results..I’ve tried to be happy with marks around 70 ish but the fact is I put so much work into them that I feel 80% + is more deserved. It’s my choice to put the hard work in so expect ‘perfect’ results… perfect for me anyway.

There are times when I am satisfied with less than perfect…I think that’s good healthy acceptance.. when it’s justified I guess. My weight is current not perfect (for me) but I’m working at it now I’ve made the decision to. Before I was all aggressive with myself and disgruntled. Hmmm I think it’s a process really… we have to be able to accept imperfection and we can if it’s transient. Perhaps it is the nature of our being to strive for our desires and perfections, which of course are all relative.

Asking myself the question: Is this really very important? Most of the time the answer is no. Then 20% of the effort achieving perfection is usually enough to achieve an 80% result.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

Now some things are very important. Then I try to be as perfect as possible.