Inside: Trying to be perfect or struggling with perfectionism leads to overwhelm, feeling stuck, or never feeling good enough. When we choose to love ourselves as we are and understand that our worth is not defined by others’ opinions, our ability to perform, or the size of jeans we wear, freedom begins to leak in to all the broken spaces of our lives.
There was a time that I tried so hard to perform, to prove my worth, and I would hold it all together for a time. But inevitably the dam would break and I would spill rage all over my family and then live with the shame which would feed my need to do better and try harder. A vicious circle.
Do you hide behind a mask of perfectionism? Or do you feel bad, wrong, or broken simply because you’re less than perfect?
To the onlooker you have the perfect marriage, you dress beautifully, you always seem to have it all together. But at home you lash out at your kids – maybe even physically harming them. Or you accumulate thousands of dollars in consumer debt because of your stress-induced shopping addiction.
Maybe you are addicted to prescription meds, numb out nightly with wine, or hide a pattern of bingeing and purging in order to maintain that “perfect appearance” or feel more in control of your life.
It’s not your job to like me – it’s mine.
Byron Katie
what perfectionism can look, sound, and feel like
Perfectionism is a personality trait common amongst people with disordered eating (source, source). This might look like an “all or nothing attitude” that results in restrictive patterns of eating and exercise and then completely falling off the wagon – a cycle that gets repeated for years on end as self-loathing increases.
This might look like someone very successful at maintaining an “ideal” body shape and weight and outward image but who constantly body shames herself or who appears perfectly happy then becomes unhinged in another area of life. This could even look like your fitness instructor who cycles through bingeing and then restricting patterns to enter fitness competitions.
I have healed from binge eating and restricting and have walked away from drugs and alcohol in order to live eyes and heart wide open. No more numbing for me. And definitely no more shame. I am done trying to be perfect.
Your kids are perfectly coiffed at all times, your home is Pinterest worthy, you attend church faithfully and volunteer in your community and have thousands of dedicated Instagram followers, all singing your praises. But inside you are crumbling. You know the cracks in your mental stability are there, widening a little each day, and live in near-constant fear that one day the whole truth will come gushing out. The truth that you do not have what it takes, that you are a fraud. A failure. Never quite good enough.
During the holidays you overbuy, your home and yard are decorated impeccably, you feel obligated to host the meal with a beautifully decorated table. Or, you ‘fail’ to do any of this because you will never measure up anyways but then berate yourself for months for your ineptitude. Either way, the holidays are joyless and fraught with angst.
You are a workaholic or meticulous at your workplace while your home life disintegrates. Or you regularly have thoughts of giving up because you feel that you can never quite keep up. I am well acquainted with the latter.
perfectionism generally leads nowhere good
Perfectionism is absolutely required in certain professions – you probably expect your surgeon or architect to be extremely exacting in the work that they do. And if people in these professions are able to maintain one standard for work but another, gentler standard, for their home life, they may be perfectly content, healthy individuals. Unfortunately, however, there does seem to be an increased risk for perfectionism-related suicide for those whose work emphasizes perfection and those in leadership positions (source).
Perfectionism is associated with increased health outcomes in some scenarios. If for example, you have a chronic condition, those with perfectionist tendencies may be more likely to follow through with nutrition, medication, supplement and lifestyle changes.
Their perfectionistic neighbour, however, may experience worse health outcomes because perfectionism in them spikes anxiety and emotionally they fall apart, aware that they can never be “good enough” to faithfully maintain all the changes ‘prescribed’ to them. This person might give up altogether, isolate themselves, and even swing to an extremely unhealthy lifestyle because “why bother trying only to fail?”
Perfectionism can lead to procrastination, an unwillingness to try, a preference to drop out or take a zero on a project rather than risk receiving a less than perfect mark. This was my reality back in university.
It can hold you back from taking risks or stepping out into your long-held dreams because the truth is you might fail, people might not love you. Sometimes to commit energy to a new project you are required to let go, even a little bit, of the tightly held reins of all the daily tasks and need to maintain order in life. And this can be very painful. Though I have come a long way, I live with this reality still.
Trying to be perfect can lead to crippling anxiety or depression
Your perfectionist teenagers might appear lazy to you – they might refuse to strive for the top marks because they recognize that trying to maintain that top position will destroy them. They might procrastinate wildly at times and despite their academic strength, there might be times that you wonder if they will manage to pass a course. They might tell you, in no uncertain terms, that although they are perfectly capable, they do not desire a career in a highly demanding field because it will rob them of any semblance of joy. If your child is self-aware enough to tell you this; I highly encourage you to listen well and respect what they are telling you.
Perfectionists are masters at hiding their pain and are more likely to research and create a detailed plan for their suicide (source). Rates of suicide are growing amongst middle schoolers at an alarming rate and the underlying causes can vary. But is it possible that we are pushing kids to grow up too fast; are we (as parents, society, social media) placing too heavy a burden on them to perform, compete, measure up? I wrote about my teenage suicide attempts here.
High performing athletes are likely perfectionistic and highly competitive and while these traits can support them in some life goals, they might have a tendency to fall prey to abuse and struggle with mental health problems. This book (referral link) by Canadian Olympian, Clara Hughes, was an interesting read!
The person you know who is highly critical of everything and everyone around might be struggling with perfectionism – they hold themselves and everyone else to incredibly high standards. Their harsh attitudes might be a reflection of their inner feelings of inadequacy.
You might have a social network of people who love you and offer help but you perceive their offers as criticism. Their offer simply highlights just how flawed or weak you are and drives you deeper into isolation (source) and an unhealthy need to up your game.
A tendency to become easily angered or defensive in the face of the smallest perceived criticism or when shown to be wrong might reflect the core belief of never being “good enough”. Ugh. I still struggle with this, as recently pointed out (lovingly) by my teenage daughter. This is also one of the pitfalls of being an enneagram type 1.
we can aim for great work while being fully human and less than perfect
We need to be able to recognize the voice of comparison, perfectionism, fear, shame, and judgment in the moment but not let it control us. We can learn to recognize the thoughts and emotions that arise, hear them, and then choose our response.
Striving for excellence and trying to be perfect is not the same thing – although for some of us even the expectation of needing to attain “excellence” in all things can feel incredibly overwhelming and oppressive (I wrote about that here). Unattainable, high standards of perfectionism set you up for failure, day in day out.
But simply telling yourself to lower your standards is not enough.
It is important to address the feelings or needs that push you toward trying to be perfect: the need to be accepted, the need to be loved and cared for (source). The need to know that you matter and that you have intrinsic worth not based, not even one iota, on your ability to perform.
My Free Feel More Empowered Workshop can help – learn more here.
The truth is that we cannot make others accept us or love us or give us what we need in life. The work begins inside ourselves. Healing, joy, and freedom are largely an inside job.
how can you gift yourself permission to be less than perfect and embrace good enough?
1. Bring in more self-compassion, and more self-forgiveness. You must learn to love and accept yourself exactly as you are. Right now in the thick of all your struggle and imperfection.
2. Stand naked before your mirror each day and choose ONE part of your body to be grateful for.
3. Let someone know the truth of how you are feeling or the hidden behaviours that are destroying your life or family. Confession can break shame.
4. Begin to let others see the real you in small ways. This requires vulnerability and letting your guard down little by little.
5. Step away from social media or TV or magazines that trigger shame and comparison. (How can we help our kids walk through this shaming culture with a strong sense of worth?)
6. Identify where your worth – your identity – comes from. Who or what determines your value as a person?
7. Learn to break that all or nothing attitude. Practice “good enough” in some areas of life. Start small. Maybe you eat frozen pizza for dinner instead of homemade everything; maybe you say no to the weekend volleyball tournament so you can rest; perhaps you yell at your kids again but instead of waiting three days you go to them straight away and apologize and move forward.
8. Begin a practice of gratitude.
9. Challenge negative self-talk that arises – you can learn to take back control of your thought life (access my free Shift Your Experience worksheets in the ALIP resource library)
10. Get help if you have been thinking about suicide or having thoughts and feelings of hopelessness.
11. Choose your friends wisely – break relationships with friends who always gossip, focus on their weight, and are quick to point out everyone else’s flaws. Build brave community with other growth-minded and compassionate humans.
12, Make a decision to step off the treadmill of diets, exercise boot camps, and counting calories. Get help to learn to befriend yourself and care for yourself with kindness and compassion. If I am not the right fit for you I can point you in a good direction to get the help you need.
13. Set up a self-care tracking system and begin caring for yourself with love each day. Encourage your partner and kids to do the same (find one in the resource library)
14. Give yourself permission to rest.
15. Take a risk this week- risk getting rejected or making someone unhappy with you. Submit the guest post request, ask for the raise, initiate sex with your husband. Invite that lady you’ve been watching to a coffee date, attend the Zumba class that looks so fun but might make you feel a little silly as you get the hang of it. Say no to someone. Stand up for yourself. Use your voice.
16. Get to know your nervous system patterns and feel more empowered. This free workshop will teach you how to discharge stress or move it through your body and begin taking imperfect action when you feel activated or stuck.
17. Take a seasonal living approach to life and work. Not everything is for this day or this season. It’s healthy and normal to experience ebb and flow of energy throughout the day, week, month, year, and the emotional seasons of your life. My Seasonal Mindfulness Journals will help.
When we admit that we are not perfect, that we do not have to be, when we choose to love ourselves as we are and understand that our worth is not defined by others’ opinions, our ability to perform, or the size of jeans we wear, freedom begins to leak in to all the broken spaces of our lives. And healing begins.
Gift yourself wholehearted permission to live and show up and BE less than perfect. Permission to love your messy and beautiful reality. Things will not miraculously change overnight but you will have taken that first, critical, baby step into your journey of healing and freedom.
Krista xo
