Managing Anxiety, Overcoming Perfectionism and Valuing Mistakes

As expectations for the workforce are constantly on the rise, today’s generation are placed under all the more pressure to exceed. The problem is that we are not given the time, freedom, and space to explore, experiment, and make mistakes as previous generations before us. From all the pressure placed upon this generation, coupled with the misconception that making mistakes is inherently bad, many people struggle with anxiety in the workplace.

What can we do raise awareness of this anxiety felt by many, and how can we put strategies in place to lessen it? ?

“A lot of the time, people will sweep anxiety under the rug as nerves that you simply need to get over.” Says Olivia Remes of Cambridge University. This is because people don’t know what anxiety is, or how to deal with it. Anxiety is a form of constant worry and unease. Anxiety limits us. It can paralyse us in our everyday lives, and at work, especially, where we may already be facing heighted amounts of pressure or stress.

People who experience anxiety often worry about failure, and because of this, strive for perfection, holding themselves to impossibly high standards in the process. But it is our mental health and wellbeing that pays the price. More often than not, aiming for perfection is a hinderance to our goal, as we spend so much time worrying which in turn, limits our abilities and stops us from realising our true potential.

This fear of making mistakes and lack of perfection in our work can often feel all-consuming and can have massive impacts on our quality of life. However, there are a myriad of ways to deal with this anxiety, and as Remes points out “You can develop coping resources independently through the things that you do. You can take charge of your anxiety and lower it, which can be really empowering.”

Remes goes on to introduce three coping strategies in order to help lower and lessen anxiety. “Do you sometimes find that you put off starting something because you just don’t feel ready enough?” She asks. “Do you tend to waste a lot of time deciding what you might do, while nothing gets done?”

A way to overcome this kind of indecision and this lack of control in life, advises Remes, is to “Do it badly.” She quotes writer and poet, GK Chesterton, who said “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly the first time.”

“The reason why this works so well is because is speeds up any indecision we may feel and catapults us straight into action.” Describes Remes. “Otherwise, you can spend hours deciding how you might go about doing something.” This can be paralysing and can make us afraid to even begin a certain task.“

All too often, we want to do something perfectly.” Says Remes. “We feel we can’t start until we have all the skills, until it’s the right time. But this can be daunting and stressful. So why not just jump into it, without worrying if it’s good or bad?” She questions.

‘Do it badly’ frees us up to take action and it can give us wings to take risks. To try doing things differently, and to have more fun in the process. “This motto takes the anxiety out of everything and replaces it with excitement.” Remes describes.?

The second strategy Remes introduces is about forgiving ourselves, which can be a very powerful tool if we choose to use it. Those who experience anxiety often worry about what they are doing wrong, as well as mistakes they’ve made in the past, and ones they might make in the future. They tend to hyperfocus on what they perceive to be negative aspects of themselves and because of this, they are not very kind to themselves.

“Maybe it’s time to start being kinder with ourselves and time to start supporting ourselves.” Suggests Remes. “A way to do this is to forgive yourself. If you wanted to talk to someone but couldn’t muster up the courage to do so, forgive yourself. This will give you greater compassion towards yourself.” She explains. By utilising this strategy, we can begin to grow our confidence which in turn can help us to be more productive and to realise our true potential, allowing us to achieve even more.

The last coping mechanism Remes discusses is the importance of finding purpose and meaning. It can be anything from simply spending time doing something you enjoy or doing something with someone else in mind.

These things have the power to carry us through the toughest of times and are incredibly vital for combating anxiety, stress, or pressure we may experience at work. Having purpose and finding meaning as individuals will allow us to realise the uniqueness and importance of our own lives, and that we do indeed have control over what we do and how we do it.

We need not worry about perfection, because it simply does not exist. Rather than striving to reach an unattainable ideal, we should value the mistakes we make as we are able to learn and better ourselves through them. With coping resources such as these introduced by Olivia Remes, we can lower our anxiety and become happier, more creative, and productive people.

What can we do to integrate and spread the knowledge of anxiety management strategies within the workplace to make them more accessible? Furthermore, what can we do to lessen this sense of pressure upon today’s generation? How can we introduce a new narrative within the industry, one that values the power of learning through mistakes over perfection? ?

Written by Katie Wilson, EP Business in Hospitality