Psychologist Thomas Curran explained perfectionism is not the quest of perfecting a task.
It is an act of covering up the ‘perceived imperfection’ in ourselves.
I have never regarded myself as a perfectionist.
It came as a surprise when perfectionism emerged as my chief saboteur when I took a self-assessment test developed by Positive Intelligence (PQ, link in comments) recently.
As I reflect on my results, I can see truth in it.
My fixation on getting things 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.
My tendency to self-judge when I fail to meet 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.
My habit of pushing myself even harder for 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣.
This haunting feeling of ‘𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝’ has continued to weigh down on my shoulders subconsciously.
I should know.
The perfectionist in me took up to 5 hours to draft 1 LinkedIn post when I started posting this February.
I wasted considerable time over-thinking and over-tinkering.
I undermined my self-confidence, mistaken fulfilment lies in perfection.
𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗱.
The first step to harness perfectionism is to acknowledge its existence in us.
The desire to be better has given me the strength to strive.
It has empowered me to overcome the ‘impossible’ in my life.
It fuels my motivation towards lifelong learning and personal growth.
Recognizing my perfectionist traits has allowed me to be self-compassionate.
Instead of being frustrated with myself, I learned to understand the origins of my habits. This has given me the confidence to be less than perfect.
We can achieve more and find joy when we choose to put down our baggage. 🌟
We can find peace when we recognize no one is judging us other than ourselves. 🌟
⏩ PS: Would you put down your baggage?
