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September 25 - September 25, 2018
I take pride in my abilities, and go to great lengths to make sure my handiwork is without errors. The problem is, perfection is difficult to sustain when tight deadlines loom. I put in extra time to compensate. But burning the candle at both ends is a recipe for burnout. The quality of my work declines; mistakes creep in and go unnoticed by my fatigued eyes. I’m too tired to appreciate the irony - my obsession with perfection is draining my energy and eroding my attention and causing me to make errors.
each time I failed to live up to my unreasonably high standards, I castigated myself and grew more miserable.
Many perfectionists feel inadequate in one or more ways. They believe they’re not athletic enough, pretty enough, smart enough, rich enough, motivated enough, or dedicated enough. In short, they feel they’re not good enough. Whether this perception is true doesn’t matter. They believe it. Perfectionists pursue flawlessness to counter this feeling. They tell themselves, “If I do everything perfectly, I’ll prove that I’m good enough.” This mindset is a precarious one because no one can successfully maintain this ridiculous standard over the long run.
Perfectionists are even more resistant to change. It wrests control from their hands. It makes them feel as if they have less influence over their environment. This feeling, in turn, elevates their sense of vulnerability because they presume the odds that something will go wrong are greater.
It’s important to recognize that life is about taking risks. We embrace risk - consciously or otherwise - when we meet new people, pursue personal interests and professional opportunities, and invest for the future.
In short, risk is a prerequisite for fully enjoying life’s rich abundance.
It prevents us from pursuing anything that jeopardizes our sense of control, including activities that would otherwise prove deeply rewarding.
The words we say to ourselves are just as powerful as the words we say to others. When we silently berate ourselves for failing to meet impossibly
Forced to choose between uncertain outcomes, they’re tormented by anxiety and indecision. They’d rather make no decision than make a wrong one.
indecision is worse than making a wrong decision. It prevents you from moving forward. It causes you to become stuck in the present via perpetual delay. Indecision also prevents you from learning from your mistakes. Such lessons are a crucial factor in experiencing personal and professional development. The ability to make quick and definitive decisions is empowering. It tells your brain that you’re able to take calculated risks. It also tells your brain that uncertainty is nothing to fear. Worst-case scenarios rarely come to pass, and on the rare occasions they do, they’re seldom as grave as
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procrastination imposes its own set of consequences. It hampers productivity. It leads to missed opportunities. It erodes self-esteem. In
Once you give yourself permission to be less than perfect, you’ll become more willing to be wrong and make mistakes. You’ll see such circumstances as learning opportunities rather than personal failures.
You perpetually feel that your performance is under scrutiny. Everything you do is being judged by everyone around you. When others aren’t available to judge your performance, your inner critic picks up the slack.
Perfectionists fear the unpredictable. Creatives embrace it. Perfectionists crave acclaim, and go to great lengths to guarantee they receive it - from others and themselves. Creatives recognize that acclaim is merely one
It also allowed me to find joy in the process of creating something in the absence of fear.
Our problem-solving skills allow us to confront hurdles head-on and figure out ways to move forward.
Perfectionistic individuals become frustrated whenever something fails to go according to plan. Because they judge themselves harshly when their actions fail to produce perfect results, this ultimately leads to self-criticism.
