How to succeed with persistence, not perfection and keep yourself sane!

Picture someone you consider a perfectionist, what are their behaviors and traits?

Do you see someone who is high-achieving, fearless, and possesses high standards?

Or, do you see someone who is picky, demanding, critical, fearful, insecure, defensive and/or controlling?

Ask most people, especially those impacted by such a person, and they will say the latter.

Ask the perfectionist, and they’ll say the former.?

But, are those traits and characteristics helping them actually achieve their goals or are they holding them back?

Now, that answer is the latter.

Perfectionists have a very challenging, let alone stressful, time at staying on track, taking necessary risks, and rallying the people they need around them, because what they think is merely having high standards is projected onto others as controlling, manipulating, and demanding.

Who wants to be part of that?

In a world that values far to often perfection, an artificial one in reality, it's easy to get caught up in the pursuit of flawlessness.?

But, NO ONE is flawless. No one.

Hell, who truly wants to be as it is so grueling on one’s mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical being.

Again, picture it.? Say, the perfectionist is you…

Before you walk out the door, you have to be head-to-toe polished, so it takes you an hour+ to get ready. You sit down to write a simple email response and find yourself rewriting over and over again until it is absolutely perfect (in your eyes). You delegate out and receive back accurately finished tasks from your employee, and you immediately look for the mistake- there’s got to be one, you think, and it has to be fixed, or it will make you look flawed.

I’m stressed-out from just visualizing those actions while writing this.

And, for who?? Who are you relentlessly pursuing perfection for?

It’s not for you.?

It’s for everybody else around you who you are allowing to control how you show up in the world. Yet, they may never have asked you to be perfect.

And, even if they did, it is YOUR choice to fall victim to their expectations and high standards, or, if you really want to control situations and their outcomes, then you choose how you want to live.

The constant need for perfection can be paralyzing, debilitating, and absolutely crushing of? your dreams.? Add to that, it can destroy working and personal relationships as no one can ever seem to live up to those standards.?

Instead, consider relentlessly pursuing a mindset of persistence which allows you to constantly and consistently move forward, learn from your mistakes, and ultimately allow small steps and actions to create big results for you and those around you.?

Now, doesn’t that allow you to breath deeply.

CHECK OUT OUR LATEST PODCAST EPISODE WHERE WE DIVE DEEP INTO THIS SUBJECT - SHEDDING THE CORPORATE BITCH

Here are some tips and strategies for both shedding the need for perfection and leading with persistence, that will also elevate your personal and professional success with your team, friends, and family.

SHED PERFECTION:

• Discover the source of one’s perfectionism.
• First, list out your qualities, traits, and characteristics you feel lead to your flawlessness.
• Journal the who, what, where, when, why, and how that influenced your behavior.?
• Confront the benefits and impact of the behavior:
• List out the benefits and impacts it has on your personal relationships, your team members and company, and to you physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and even financially (if it is hurting or helping you advance).
• Not sure, ask others for feedback.
• Shed the traits not working for you and enrich those that are:
• Decide if you want change and make a commitment to do so.
• Identify small steps you can take to let go of those traits, characteristics, and behaviors not working for you.
• Embrace those that are enriching you and others and lean on them to help you achieve.

CREATE PERSISTENCE:

Embrace a Growth Mindset:

- A growth mindset allows for constant learning and recognizes that making mistakes is a natural part of the process.?

• Shift your mindset into loving to take on challenges and risks, no matter the outcome, then make note of the lessons and blessings you gained from them.
• View challenges as stepping stones to success and believe in your ability to improve with effort and determination.
• Welcome others around you to do the same and to support you in your shift.

Set Realistic Goals:

- There is nothing wrong will ambitious stretch goals. But, striving for perfection in pursuit of them will often lead to unrealistic expectations, great disappointment, exhaustion, and even stress and anxiety for both you and your team members.

• Set specific, achievable goals that encourage progress. Remember, small steps lead to big results.
• Break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps, allowing you to celebrate accomplishments along the way.

Learn from Detours and Failure:

- Failure is not the opposite of success but a stepping stone towards it.?

• No one who has ever succeeded did it without failing…over and over and over again.
• Embrace failure as an opportunity for learning and growth.?
• Analyze what went wrong and what went right, make note of the lessons learned and best practices, adjust where needed, and go for it again. Each setback brings you closer to success.

Prioritize Consistency:

- Consistency is key when it comes to persistence.?

• Establish a routine and commit to it. Even small, regular efforts compounded over time leads to significant progress. Remember, progress is more valuable than perfection.
• Identify 1-3 daily practices that no matter what, you perform them, before you do anything else, as a means of always taking action on what it is you’re working your butt off to achieve.
• Side note: On the top of my daily To Do’s is always 3 things: Pray/mediate, journal and set daily goals. No matter what, those get done first!

Celebrate Progress:

- Acknowledge and celebrate your achievements, no matter how small, and do the same for others; especially your people who only want to hear Thank You, Atta-boy/girl, or Great job.

• Treat yourself in some way, treat others in some way, i.e. surprise them with an email of thanks.
• Celebrating milestones boosts confident, energy, motivation and persistence.

Lead by Modeling to Others:

- Model the above to those around you recognizing that as a leader they are watching you to know how they should behave, perform, respond, act, and communicate.

• Model those things you want from and for them.
• Ask them for their feedback on what it is they need and how you are providing that to them.
• Truly believe that they don’t need or want perfect, they just want you to show up and lead them where they want to go.

None of us are perfect.

By shifting your focus away from perfection to persistence, you can unlock not only your true potential, but your purpose, legacy, and destiny in this one life you have to live and lead.?

Embracing a growth mindset, setting realistic goals, learning from failure, prioritizing consistency, celebrating progress and modeling what you want from others, are essential steps on this journey.?

Remember, perfection is an illusion, but persistence brings lasting results.?

So, dare to be imperfect, get messy at taking action and pursuing your goals, embrace the process, and let persistence be your guiding light on the path to success.

What is keeping you worked up about being perfect vs. simply persistent?

Book a call with me and let's get you specific tips and strategies for pushing through and being the powerhouse you're meant to be.

coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall