I'm never going to tell you to let go of perfectionism.
I'm never going to tell you to stop worrying about what other people are thinking about you.
Perfectionism and sensitivity to other people's reactions intersects with trauma, identities, mental health, defense mechanisms, to name a few things.
Perfectionism is not an on / off switch.
And we live in a world that is filled with things that are designed specifically to activate our perfectionism-- our desire to be enough.
And the standards keep changing, the bar keeps raising.
Am I saying I am pro-perfectionism? No.
I'm saying it's complicated. It takes time. It's a different experience for everyone.
And it's so much deeper and nuanced than a cute graphic on Insta that says "nobody's perfect".
Also-- if you have strong perfectionism, I can almost guarantee that it will come up as you do things to disengage from your perfectionism.
"Am I resting correctly?"
"I was bad today about taking breaks."
I never want to frame creative work that involves navigating perfectionism and critical self talk as something you can get "right" or "wrong" or be "good" or "bad" at.
Which is why... I'm not going to just tell you to let go of your perfectionism or stop caring what other people think of you.
You are not a bad creative or failing at personal growth or *whatever* if you continue to experience perfectionism 💚
Perfectionism is unfortunately baked into the creative experience (in today’s landscape, and especially when involving social media and entrepreneurship)
This is why understanding perfectionism and working WITH it — gently, slowly, and with compassion is a fundamental component of my work with clients.
We don’t need MORE perfectionism.
There is no “right” way to disengage from it.
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