Mental Health Monday: The Problem with Perfectionism

There's a huge difference between trying your best and being a perfectionist.

If you're anything like me, then you won't do something unless you know you can do it well. While that's sometimes a great mentality to have, at other times it can be detrimental. Have you ever had a big task to complete and didn't know where to start? You knew the finished product needed to be spectacular, perfect you might even say. The thought of failure stirred fear inside you and inhibited you from even beginning the task. This is where procrastination becomes perfectionism in disguise. 

Being a perfectionist can alter your mindset in a negative way. If what you accomplish falls short of what you see as perfect, you would consider it a failure. This cycle of thinking can bring you down and discourage you from trying again. For those of you who can relate to this, here are some things that might help combat perfectionism.

1. Your best is different each day.

Have you found that some days you do so much better than others and wonder why you are not always performing at the peak of your ability? This happens to all of us. Our best is not going to be the same everyday, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. 

2. Rejoice in life's little victories.

It's the little things in life. When you consider your small tasks important, you accomplish so much more in a day than you realized before. For me, my little victory is usually getting myself wherever I need to be for the day. When I arrive, I have already accomplished something. This encourages me to keep going and thus leads to more little successes in my day.

3. Look forward, not back.

One of my favorite things about using a planner is that I can plan so many things to look forward to. By always having another thing to move onto, I can avoid dwelling on tasks I might have fallen short on. Planning keeps me organized and moving onto better things . There's always something better coming. 

Make your goal your best instead of perfection, and you will always be successful. Insert all the reach for the stars quotes you want. Maybe it's cliche, but maybe that's because it works. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my little rant about perfectionism. Have a great week! 

xo