Perfectionism is actually holding you back.
There is a deceptive comfort in holding on to your perfectionism. You’ve done things a certain way most of your life, and it seems to have worked well for you. How else would you have gotten to where you are today? “If I just do what I always do and give it 200%, I will be able to control the outcome, everything will turn out great and I’ll preserve my great reputation.” Sound familiar?
If you lean toward perfectionism, I bet you haven’t stopped to think about what it has cost you…
Time (that you can’t get back)- you spend excessive amounts of time researching all possibilities before taking action or making a decision (and drive your family/friends crazy in the process!); you prioritize achieving over spending time with family and friends; and it takes you a lot longer than the average person to finish anything.
Stress (that takes a toll on your mind and body)- in constantly striving to achieve, you have a very hard time relaxing and balancing all aspects of your life, including self-care. This can lead to burnout and even chronic illness or other health conditions.
New opportunities (that pass you by)- you are so afraid of failing, making a mistake or ruining your image, that you avoid taking on things outside of your comfort zone or expertise.
Hopefully, now you can see that perfectionism isn’t helping you, it’s actually holding you back in some of the most important aspects of your life. There is another way, and trust me when I say, you can get the same outcomes without the wasted time, unnecessary stress and avoidance of opportunities.
The key is learning to be present over perfect!
In order to be fully present, you can’t be perfect. Think about it. Perfection requires lots of preparation, planning, proofing, rehearsing, run throughs and time to mitigate all possible mistakes.
So, push yourself to perform on the spot or in the moment. When you do this, there is nothing you can do but trust your own intuition and go with whatever comes to you. It’s scary at first, but as you repeat this over and over again, you quickly learn that your success was never about your perfectionism, it was always been about your innate strengths at the very core of all that extra effort!
Once you realize that you don’t need to be perfect to provide tremendous value, you can let go of the need for 200% on everything. You will learn how to prioritize your tasks, and better allocate your mental, physical and emotional energy to the more important things, so you can give yourself a break on less important ones. You will learn to give your best effort within the time allotted and move on to the next task. You will learn that you are enough as you are. You don’t need to push to the brink in order to grow, create, inspire and succeed. You will finally find joy in the process not just the outcome. Your family dynamics and health will dramatically improve. And, your life will change in ways you could have never imagined because you finally opened yourself up to new opportunities, experiences and challenges.
Present over perfect, it’s so incredibly worth it!