Yesterday, we unveiled our new Collegewise website, totally rebuilt from the ground up. And the night before it launched, I was more anxious than I’d been in a long time.
It’s scary to put something out in the world you know that people will judge. What if they don’t like it? What if something doesn’t work like it was supposed to? After posting a blog entry every day for nearly six years, I thought I’d developed a pretty strong resistance to fear of being judged. And I have. But sure enough, the night before the launch, my strong temptation was to wait another week or two.
I wanted to test it some more and to go through the pages one last time. But deep down, I knew that more testing and reviewing and revising wasn’t actually going to make the site better. That desire to tinker was actually just the desire to keep it hidden. I believe in hitting deadlines, as does our CFO and temporary web project manager, Joel. The site wasn’t perfect and never will be. But it was good enough. So we launched it.
Yes, some things didn’t work like they were supposed to. And I did get a few constructive emails pointing out the bugs. But overall, the feedback from our co-workers and customers has been very positive. And nothing terrible happened to me or the company. Good enough was in fact good enough.
I wouldn’t suggest that students get comfortable with the thought of submitting college applications with errors, omissions, or other mistakes that you’d notice later. There’s plenty you can and should do to eliminate just about any silly mistake.
But many students resist submitting their apps long after they are perfectly submit-able. And just like with launching a website, what holds you back is the fear of being judged. Once you submit your applications, you’ll be scrutinized, evaluated, and eventually told whether or not you’re accepted. That kind of judgment is scary. But once your applications are good enough, further revising and rethinking doesn’t improve them—it just delays them.
The best way to diffuse that fear is to expect it. Just about every legitimate college applicant feels a similar anxiety. You probably will, too. It doesn’t mean your application isn’t strong, and it doesn’t mean another week or two would lead to perfection. Good enough doesn’t mean average or haphazard. It just means letting go of the idea that your acceptance or denial will come down to one single word or phrase (it won’t).
You’ll know when you’ve spent enough time on your applications and when you’ve gotten enough feedback from people you trust. Don’t delay submitting them in the quest for perfection, and don’t let nerves convince you that your applications aren’t up to par. Once you’ve run out of improvements, revisions, and feedback, there’s no legitimate reason to delay. It’s time to submit. Good enough is good enough.