Perfectionism is the killer of progress.

I think we are our own worst critic.

Perfectionism is something that I've worked quite a lot with in my therapy.

For a long time, I believed that being strict towards myself and not allowing mistakes made me better.

While working in therapy on this topic, I realized just how much anxiety and stress it brings to my life.

All perfectionism does is lead to burnout, strained relationships, and unnecessary hardships.

How I battle perfectionism:

- 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀. When the deadlines come, that's it - I have to "release into the world" whatever I'm working on. This stops me from an infinite "improvement" cycle.

- 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. I think - "OK, this one might not be as good as I wanted it to be, but I can always do better next time." Such an approach lowers the expectations that my work needs to be ideal.

- 𝗜 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳. Being kind doesn't mean you allow yourself to be lazy. It means acknowledging that you are human and can make mistakes. This helps put a stop to my "inner critic" which always demands perfection.

Overall, my battle with perfectionism was definitely worthwhile:

- There is less stress and anxiety in my life

- My productivity increased

- I'm not as critical of myself or others

I have this quote by Napoleon Hill on my desktop that inspires me:

"𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 '𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵'. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨."

I still have a long way to go in my struggle, but I have made a lot of progress as well.

Fight your perfectionism; it's definitely worth it.

What is your experience with perfectionism? How do you battle it? Share your stories in the comments. 👇