Perfectionism Is Your Worst Enemy. 10 Ways to Defeat It and Prevent Burnout

About 30% of the general population are perfectionists. That's good, right? Well, it turns out not so much.

What can be so bad about trying to avoid making mistakes and having high standards?

Turns out perfectionism is associated with depression, anxiety, and even burnout. This week, we dive into one man's personal struggle with perfectionism and find 10 ways to defeat it. I've got lots of goodies for you. Enjoy!

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Does it feel like even when you do your best and achieve your goals you still feel like you’re not enough? That’s the trap of perfectionism.?

If you’ve burned out as a result of unrealistic expectations you set for yourself and are desperate for a reboot, but don’t know where to start, you’re in the right place.

To find out what got you here and 10 ways to defeat perfectionism and prevent burnout, read this week's blog article:?Perfectionism is Your Worst Enemy.

Listen

Just when the people closest to you don’t believe in you, your mission in life gets defined. You become determined, even hooked on proving yourself. The trouble is, this compulsion can lead to burnout and even become an addiction.

This week on Decode Your Burnout, Dr. Stephan Neff,?an anesthetist who’s had more than a fair share of trauma in his life, shares how his addiction to work led to substance abuse, burnout, and a loss of identity. He worked hard and played hard until he ended up in the fetal position, an empty shell.

During his struggle, Dr. Stephan tried to drown PTSD, depression and anxiety in industrial doses of vodka but had to learn the hard way that those critters can swim. Nowadays he lives a very different life, where self-love, humility, integrity and transparency actually mean something.

Listen to him tell it here.

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Perfectionism is troublesome for a number of reasons. First, it breeds other mental health issues such as?depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and even suicidal ideation.?

More and more, people are trying to perfect their imperfect selves and become preoccupied with the perfect life and the appearance of perfection.

But social psychologist, Thomas Curran, reminds us,?"The idea that we are captains of our own destiny disguises a much darker reality." That's because society steers us?measure our worth based on metrics, rankings, and leader boards. This has conditioned our definitions of ourselves and it breeds insecurity in a culture that amplified imperfections.?

The belief ,?"The better I do, the better I'm expected to do," only leads you to continuously raise the bar on your already unrealistic standards and drives more of that unrelenting work ethic that breeds burnout.

Watch Thomas' TED talk:?Our Dangerous Obsession with Perfectionism is Getting Worse."

Bonuses

If you'd like to measure your perfectionism tendencies,?here's a link to the assessment?mentioned in Thomas' TED talk.?

And finally, if you're highly anxious about not being perfect, check out this masterclass to see how you can?Master Your Anxiety and Optimize Performance.

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Have a restful weekend!

Dr. Sharon Grossman -?The Burnout Doc

To schedule a FREE Breakthrough Session, go to: https://www.bookachatwithsharon.com/

To get the Burnout Checklist, go to: https://drsharongrossman.com/burnoutchecklist