It is worthy and respectable to want to deliver a quality performance in your role, but to what extent should we aim for perfection at work or in our career?
Perfectionism has always been a big issue for many high achieving professionals, and can be one of the indicators of early success. But certainly this cannot be sustainable for a long period of time and can prevent us from excelling in our career. We have to pace ourselves and make our progression manageable, after all life is a marathon not a sprint.
We are constantly bombarded with social media messages that give the impression everyone’s life is perfect, and they all are thriving at work and in their career. Is that the real picture what we see? Or are the majority faking it to try and make it! I believe more likely is the latter.
In this endless competitive world when each individual appears at competition with the whole world, it is natural if we sometimes feel pressurised to be perfect and obliged to deliver 100% quality. The question is, is that realistic to be perfect all the time? On the other hand perfectionism can be a cause of other destructive habits such as procrastination that can stop us succeeding.
Then what is the solution to this constant battle and how we can stop this unhealthy habit?
To be honest I had suffered from perfectionism for number of years, and I would like to share with you some of the strategies I have used and worked for me to prevent or overcome perfectionism:
– I believe being perfect is very subjective action and I tried to omit the word perfect from my thoughts and conversation.
– Allow myself to make a mistake then I can see that it’s not the end of the world when I fail.
– Set a more reasonable, timely and achievable goal for myself. As a Perfectionist, we tend to set goals that are unrealistic, because of our impossible standards.
– I make sure to be kind to myself and practice self-acceptance, by lowering unrealistic standards I often set for myself. Accept that 80% is good enough and I don’t need to meet 100% to feel complete.
– Be positive and remind myself of my past achievements no matter how small or large they were.
– Try to shift my focus on finding meaning in what I do, rather than trying to do it perfectly.
Does this resonate with you?
Share your thoughts with me, I would love to hear from you!
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