EP 435: Perfectionism: What it is, What it Does, And how to Overcome it.

Today’s topic comes by request from one of my amazing Patrons! If you would like to become a Patron of the show and support me and my work, you can sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/artburns What my Patron had asked me to cover today is the very important topic of perfectionism. I say it’s an important topic because I think a vast number of the 77% of American adults suffering from stress are also suffering from perfectionism. In fact, I think it’s quite accurate to say that perfectionism causes the stress directly!!! Perfectionism, in its simplest definition, is the idea that something must be perfect or it is simply not worth even trying. It’s an all or nothing proposition, as I explain in today’s episode: The problem arises from the fact that nobody in the entire world is truly perfect. We all have flaws and we all make mistakes. A lot of them, actually. And if we strive for perfection, then we wind up feeling as though we’ve failed very often. This can give us a very unhealthy fear of failure. As I say all the time, when we engage in fear, our body responds with the stress response. At that point, we open ourselves up to a world of potential problems. Simply put, the very notion of perfectionism obstructs our ability to be happy. The good news is that no matter how perfectionist you feel you are; no matter how this perfectionism causes anxiety, depression, or stress in your body, there is a very simple solution that is super fun and feels really good: The solution to perfectionism is Self-Compassion. Would you like to learn how to neutralize your perfectionism with Self-Compassion?