Can We 🗣 About Perfectionism?

With her permission, I wanted to share one of my client’s brilliant a-ha moments. 

During our session, she asked, “What is perfect anyway?”

She realized that she couldn’t even define what perfect meant to her, so how could she possibly attain it?

She was striving for something that doesn’t even exist – perfection.

Perfectionism is when a person feels the need to be or appear to be perfect.

At the root of perfectionism is believing that your self-worth is defined by your achievements. It’s often rooted in fear and insecurity.

Perfectionism is the enemy of productivity and leadership. It can block you from achieving your highest goals.

Here’s how perfectionism shows up.

• Indecision
• Spending more time than you should on a task
• Procrastination
• Fear of disapproval from others
• Avoiding challenges to avoid failure
• Applying your high standards onto others
• Ruminating on areas where you feel you fell short

If you are ready to practice releasing your perfectionism, try these new habits:

☞ Acknowledge what you fear or what is driving your insecurity about the task.

☞ Once you do, avoid casting judgment on yourself and instead celebrate the awareness.

☞ Reframe your thinking by defining what success looks like for you for this task.

☞ Create milestones that empower you to feel productive, not overwhelmed.

Remember, you are creating new habits which means you may not always get it right. However, don’t forget to celebrate the courage it takes to practice a new way of being.