We have all heard that you need to be the best to succeed, that perfectionist mentality will not get you anywhere; below are tips to overcome perfectionism.
For many people, when they were children, the expectations were set that they needed to be a straight-A student, the star sports player, or the president of the club. Although being a good student and an involved community member is valuable and important, confusion sets in for kids when they are only recognized for their achievements. This can lead to a perfectionist mindset that they are only worthy when recognized for external accomplishments, and this mindset follows us into adulthood.
The problem with the perfectionistic mindset is the idea that you shouldn’t start until you have everything in line to move forward. If you are applying for a job, opening your own business, planning an event, or any other life circumstance, you may feel frozen and unable to make a move.
Procrastination is a major symptom of perfectionism.
It’s the, “I don’t want to fail or look bad, so I’ll hold off until everything is ready.” This is a fear based mindset.
There is a fine line between striving for excellence and striving for perfection. Excellence is achievable, perfection is not.
It’s hard to be able to tell the difference at times. To put it simply, striving for excellence is a healthy goal and can be achieved through persistence, practice, and effort; perfectionism is an unhealthy standard because it involves setting unrealistic or unattainable goals. Plus, the sad reality of perfectionism is that it can actually work against you in all aspects of your life. If you stall on making moves and committing to human interactions, your professional and personal relationships can suffer.
4 Approved Tips to Overcome Perfectionism:
Failing is good!
When things don’t go as planned, it gives you a chance to learn, reflect, and adapt. You gain tons of knowledge when things don’t go right.
Make a Move
Allow yourself to take a step or make a move even when you don’t have all of the details planned out. By doing this, you start to gain confidence in your own abilities, which in turn teaches you that you don’t need to be certain of the outcome in order to make big things happen.
Stop Comparing Your Journey to the Journey of Someone Else
It is easy to look at another successful person and think that they were cut out for their position in life- maybe they are smarter, more creative, or had better resources. The thing is that very few people start out successful. When you see a successful person, you aren’t seeing their entire journey, you are only seeing the point that they’re at now. Michael Jordan is argued to be the best basketball player of all time, but he didn’t start out as a pro. He worked hard to get to where he ended up as a basketball star.
What is the Worst Case Scenario?
Ask yourself what the worst case scenario could be if you begin to move. Write it down, or talk to someone about your fears. Most often when you allow the worst case scenario to be considered outside of your mind, you find that it isn’t actually that scary.
It’s time to take action. If you have been frozen in your tracks because of perfectionism, take your first step today to combat it. Progress is more important than perfection.
If you know someone who could benefit from this, pass it along.
How We Can Help
If you want additional support, We offer a couple of options:
- We offer support groups, workshops, and wellness retreats in additional to mental health counseling and therapy. You can find more details at www.tribemindbody.com/events