I love creating, revamping, and reconditioning things. Projects are my jam, and I love to strategize the next big concept that needs to come to life.

Unfortunately, my project execution has taught me that to be perfect, every project has to be done twice! There are too many unforseen factors in the way I work through a project for it to come together perfect the first time (or without substantial adjustments before I’m done).

Take my recent projects:

• Repairing my Prius headlight’s involved going in and changing a bad sensor, only to figure out I needed a bracket as well, and requiring me to revisit the project later with the proper parts.
• Changing out the dash lights in the Corvette led to the realization that the lights I’d been recommended on Corvette forums wouldn’t work right, and I ended up ordering the proper bulbs and revisiting the dash again a week later.

Needless to say, I obsess over larger projects a lot more than the small ones, and I’ve blessed by the grace of God to be doing everything I can the first time in marriage and parenting. But the truth remains, the second time is always where I really hit my stride on many things.

So if you are the kind of person who stresses to get it right the first time, take some comfort in the fact it’s not always necessary to get it perfect the first time. As my professor used to say, “Anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly until you can do it well.”