I am a perfectionist, if you can even call it that.
Because, as I imagine most perfectionists would understand, I have never achieved perfection. I think the true sign of a “perfectionist” is the never ending discontent with ourselves and our work.
A “perfectionist” is most profoundly aware of her imperfection.
I analyze every part of my body, my work, my personality, my mind, etc., but I am never able to check a box that says, “Yes, this one I can stop working on. It is done.”
The only end I can ever achieve is, “No, it is not perfect but it will have to do.” Sometimes I can accept that answer and move forward. Other times I am trapped by it, trying to attain an impossible goal.
I joked around on Facebook the other night:
“I am a perfectionist, I admit it. But sometimes, it is nice to know that I work my a** off to make sure something is done right. (Other times, it is just a pain in that a**!)”
I am grateful that I work hard and push to do my best. But, as I said, it is also a pain. It makes me less prolific as a blogger because I edit and tweak for hours.
Susan, my twin sister and co-founder here at 5 Minutes for Mom, calls herself a “recovering perfectionist.” She refuses to allow those tendencies to control her and is far less obsessive than I am.
We were raised to strive for A+ outcomes by our wonderful – but extremely perfectionist – mother.
As we’ve grown older, Susan has managed to loosen some of these self-imposed shackles. She’s not in the clear of course… she still also takes way to long fiddling with posts and struggling with the all-or-nothing thinking that comes along with a perfectionist personality. But she’s making progress and I’m also trying to overcome perfectionism.
Tell Me: What about you? Do you struggle with perfectionism? What has helped you to overcome perfectionism?
Written by Janice Croze, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom.
Wanna chat? Find me at: @5minutesformom, @janicecroze and Facebook.com/5minutesformom.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
For as long as I can remember I’ve struggled with a perfectionist personality, it’s just part of who I am and how I do things. Instead of trying to overcome it, I embrace it.
Trying to write succinctly. I fluctuate between long, drawn our sentences with complicated punctuation. And short ones.
I believe I’ve come a lone way in this area, but still have a ways to go. I can so relate to endless hours of tweaking and editing for one blog post. Ugh! It never ends.
Oh man, totally a perfectionist. And also a procrastinator. It’s hard to want to do something when I know that it will never quite turn out exactly the way I want. Ugh!
Oh yes!!!!!! But honestly as a Mom with three kids in the house I tend to let a lot of that go because of time constraints. I also go to the gym a lot so maybe I have just transferred my perfectionism to a different part of my life.
I was just writing my morning journal pages, and this was my topic too!!
Perfectionist. I definitely fall into that category. It has been one of the hardest things about becoming a mother for the first time. I want to be perfect at everything – my career, my artwork, being a wife, being a mother, keeping a house, being financially responsible. I even want to take care of myself well! *gasp* I find the debilitating factor to be the guilt I feel when I don’t quite get it right. And let me tell you, lately there is a lot of guilt.
I find me saying more and more to myself, “It’s fine, Rachel. It’s fine.” Yet some days “fine” still doesn’t feel quite good enough.
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