Is Perfectionism blocking your flow?

I am a perfectionist. Someone recently told me that being a perfectionist was a good thing because it meant that I held myself to higher accountability, but I view it as my biggest weakness.

I will spend too much time on a project trying to make it flawless or overanalyze a drafted email before I hit send.

As children, many of us were taught to value perfection but real perfection in humans does not exist. Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best. Perfectionism is not about healthy achievement and growth. Perfectionism blocks creative flow and holds us stagnant.

Progress over perfection.

Striving for progress means that you are learning, growing, evolving, and improving. It’s a forward movement.

A few years ago, I hired a personal trainer. I worked out with him twice a week for an hour. He was relentless, pushing me just beyond my full potential. I always felt nauseated during each workout and there were many times I wasn’t sure that I was going to make it to my car because my legs felt weak.

One day at a session, I carelessly made a comment about wanting perfect abs. I looked at him and asked, “How long do you think that will take?” He stopped me right there and stated, “April, you may never have abs. What you need to do is look at your before photos and compare them to how you look now. You’ve made a lot of progress and that’s the mindset you should have.”