Letting Go Of Perfectionism

This week, I'm writing about a topic that is near and dear to my heart: perfectionism.??As a textbook Virgo, it's almost as if my perfectionism is written in the stars!??

It's an affliction I've struggled with my entire life.?And I don't mean that in the obnoxious way that people being interviewed sometimes refer to their own perfectionism ("My biggest flaw? My attention to detail and how much I care about excellence, dare I say, my perfectionism?").

I mean it in the -?"sometimes I put off starting a new project for MONTHS until I've mapped out every possible permutation"?- way... or the -?"it can take me HOURS to complete a 20-minute task"?- way...?

It can be a struggle... ???

I've come to recognize so many of the ways that perfectionism shows up in my life, and all of the ways that I can justify it as reasonable - or even desirable.

For example,?I'm a total?"procrasti-learner":?There's always just one more book or podcast I can consume before I take the plunge into something new.

The flip side of that is that when I do take the plunge, I *really* know what the heck I'm talking about ?? and my clarity and confidence comes from this knowledge.?

So it can be tough to disentangle the downsides from the upsides...??

I found myself thinking about this aspect of my personality?as joined Boi Carpenter , Ben Collier , Rena Greifinger , Becky Endicott and Jon McCoy of #WeAreForGood last week for a conversation about evolved leadership. We talked about agility, and abundance, and an openness to learning and "failing forward."

These things are anathema to perfectionism.

So this week I'm doing a deeper dive into perfectionism,?and sharing some resources tips, and tools that I hope can help any of you fellow travelers on this journey understand and navigate your own perfectionism.??

Perfectionism is a double-edged sword.?

On one hand, it can push you to perform at your highest levels. On the other hand, it is often rooted in anxiety which, if left unchecked, can undermine all of your efforts. This article offers strategies for?harnessing the positives of our perfectionism while mitigating the negatives.

Perfectionism is often not about healthy striving (although we may tell ourselves it is...).

More often, it is rooted in?a set of cognitive narratives that we've constructed to avoid judgment and failure. ?[VIDEO]

It's important not to get caught up in the black-and-white dichotomous analysis of perfectionism.?

Research suggests that it's not either all good or all bad. Instead, there may be?different types of perfectionism, some of which we can tap into to fuel and inspire our leadership.?

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A bit about me: I'm an organizational design and social impact strategist supporting mission-driven leaders across the country in launching and scaling high-impact nonprofits. My Next Level Nonprofit Accelerator helps leaders of 6-figure nonprofits build the infrastructure - strategies, board, staff, &finances - they need to grow their organizations with more confidence and less overwhelm.