How to Overcome Perfectionism

Understand your motivation. Perfectionism doesn't appear out of nowhere, every perfectionist has a motivation. There are three main motivations for perfectionism: desire to growth, social expectations and sense of insecurity.

In order to overcome your perfectionism, you need to know what makes you a perfectionist. For example, desire to be the best you can be is not bad per se, but you need to realize that desire to be perfect holds you back because you will never be able to achieve perfection as it doesn't exist.

Go for good enough. Don't go for perfect, go for good enough. Ideals are simply reference points and not your final destination. Aiming for perfection often prevents people from finishing projects or even starting them. You don't have to do perfect, you just have to do a good job. However, you shouldn't use the “no one is perfect” as an excuse to slack off. If you decide to do something, do it well.

Set your own standards. If your perfectionism is caused by social expectations, you need to stop letting other people set the bar. Set your own bar at an achievable level. Once you've reached your goal, raise the bar a little higher. Of course, it is important to challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone, but you have the right to do it at your own pace. Don't let other people set the pace for you, even if they do it with good intentions.

Learn from your mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, but only fools make the same mistake twice. To err is human, so don't beat yourself up when you make a mistake. What you should do is learn from your mistakes to never repeat them. Forgive yourself and move on, otherwise you will never get anything done out of fear to make a mistake.

Learn to delegate. Many perfectionists are control freaks who try to do everything themselves because they are afraid that other people would screw up. You need to have faith in other people's abilities. Don't be afraid to delegate tasks, you can always help them get it right instead of doing everything yourself and stretching yourself too thin.

Don't make others strive for perfection. A perfectionist boss can make the lives of his subordinates a living hell. Don't be that boss. We are sure your subordinates are doing their best, so don't make them jump over their heads and cut them some slack. It is also important to celebrate your team's successes and accomplishments.

Enjoy the process. Perfectionists are so determined to reach the goal that they forget to enjoy the entire process. You need to take things positively and learn to enjoy the process as much as the result. Humor might be very helpful, so try not to take things too seriously.