Myth: "perfectionism brings me success"

Perfectionism is oppressive in nature. It's designed to have you searching for what's wrong or not good enough.

It has you focusing on mistakes and doubting what you've already created.

It's an excuse to criticize your work, or even worse, make character judgements about yourself.

If your work isn't perfect, what do you make it mean about you as a person?

When I was going through my coach training, I would often doubt myself and feel like a fraud if I didn't get things on the first try. That's the thing with perfectionism - it's a scarcity mindset where you focus on how far away you are from the end result rather than all that you've gained during the experience.

"But perfectionism helps me get further in life"

you might say.

The truth is that you don't need perfectionism to help you achieve more. Though you may find yourself resisting this truth, the secret sauce behind your work is you. What has gotten you this far is your commitment, capability and creativity. Perfectionism is actually getting in your way.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't edit your work at all. All I'm saying is maybe rereading that email 6 times before sending just ends up taking you more time than you really need and leaving you with an anxiety hangover.

You are human, and humans are imperfect beings. What if you gave yourself permission to be imperfect?

How would your life be different if (instead of criticizing your work) you celebrated your effort and creativity?

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Now multiply that by every single time you have a negative judgement towards yourself throughout your day.

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How would your daily experience change?

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How would your mood be affected?

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Your energy level?

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How would your favorite humans experience you?

Life isn't about end results, it's about how you experience those end results and the journey along the way.

Do you look back on your journey with joy, celebrating everything you've learned and the fun you had while doing so?

Or do you water the seeds of that gnarly little inner critic inside your head, allowing them to overgrow and cloud your mind, robbing you of your joy?

What do you say?