The Perfectionist Trap: 7 Ways It Ruins Your Progress
Are you a perfectionist? These are seven ways perfectionism ruins your progress.
Does everything have to be perfect for you? Perfectionism ruins lives. Perfectionism tortures you until your project is done exactly right. Here are seven ways perfectionism persecutes your progress.
Prevents Progress
Perfectionism hinders your progress. Instead of completing your work on time, you continuously revise, edit, and perfect without finishing the task. Your desire for perfection is an unrealistic goal.
You can constantly improve, but nothing can ever be perfect.
Your striving for perfection leads to procrastination and missed deadlines. It is best to get the job done rather than chase mythical perfection.
Prevents Action
Perfectionism torments you from taking action. You continuously find yourself working on a project but never completing it. You are too focused on making it perfect. Perfectionism can cause you to feel overwhelmed and frustrated with your work.
Instead of fixating on perfection, finish a project to the best of your abilities and then move on to your next goal. Repeating the same project over and over again will only hold you back from achieving new successes.
Remember, progress is better than perfection! Perfectionism torments you from taking action.
Everything Must Be Perfect
You believe everything must be perfect. Perfectionism hamstrings you because everything you do must be impeccable.
If there is any type of mistake. It must be corrected. All the corrections must be gone until the project you are working on is immaculate.
School and college taught me to make everything perfect. I was worried that if I did poorly in classes, I would fail. I would have no chance of success. No one would want to hire me.
The problem with college is that it only teaches you book knowledge. College does not teach practical knowledge that you can apply in your daily life.
Related - Does Everyone Need A College Education?
Cannot Learn From Mistakes
Perfectionism can hinder your ability to learn from mistakes. When striving for perfection, any mistake may seem unacceptable, and you may be too hard on yourself for any errors you make.
Mistakes provide you with an opportunity for personal growth and development. You can learn from and improve by identifying and analyzing your errors. This process requires effort and a willingness to be comfortable with making mistakes, knowing they can help you progress toward a better future.
Black-And-White Thinking
Perfectionism can lead to black-and-white thinking. Everything is viewed as either right or wrong, good or bad. Black-and-white thinking can be harmful as it can make you believe that if you cannot do something perfectly, there is no point in doing it.
When you fail, you often have negative thoughts about yourself. Those thoughts can lead to depression. Black-and-white thinking can also impact your relationships with others, your ability to complete tasks and your self-image.
It is vital to learn how to stop thinking in absolutes. Start learning from your mistakes. Instead of being hard on yourself, try to move on and focus on the positive aspects of what you did well.
Remember that life is not always black and white. There can be many shades of gray. By accepting this and learning to view things in a more nuanced way, you can improve your mental health and overall well-being.
Inability To Finish Tasks
Perfectionism makes you counterproductive and leads to unfinished tasks. It is natural to want to do a great job in everything you do. Finishing a task can be nearly impossible when your goal is perfection. Perfectionism makes you constantly redo and tweak a task. You can never experience the feeling of being satisfied with the result.
You will continue to be a mouse on a wheel, forever redoing the same task since nothing can ever be perfect.
One way you can overcome perfectionism is by setting realistic deadlines for tasks. You can strive to do your best. You continuously can work to improve. Learning when to stop and consider when a task is completed is critical. You can then submit the work to your boss or publish it.
It is essential to understand that minor daily improvements are better than spending too much time on something that can never be perfect. So, work to complete tasks to the best of your ability, then move on to the next one.
Afraid Of Imperfection
Do you find yourself hiding your imperfections and weaknesses for fear of being judged? Do you feel the pressure to be perfect, even though you know deep down it's an impossible goal?
The desire to be flawless can take over every area of your life:
Dating
Friendships
Family
Professional life
Failing to accept yourself
You may be afraid of being yourself, covering up any errors and flaws to appear perfect. Embracing your unique traits and eccentricities makes you stand out from the crowd.
Don't let society's unrealistic expectations dictate your life and success. Define your own goals and path to happiness.
Remember, it's okay to be imperfect - that's what makes you human.
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Summary
Perfectionism prevents progress. It hinders you from reaching your goals. Nothing can ever be perfect.
Embrace your beautiful imperfections. Take small daily actions to achieve your goals instead of believing everything must be perfect.
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