Taming the Perfectionist Self
“I can’t wait until I have it together, like you.”
I actually get this sort of message from my clients sometimes. Okay, maybe they don’t actually use the word “perfect,” but they seem to be elevating the positives they see to a level that, quite frankly, isn’t real.
Do I have good days most of the time? Yep. Am I positive most of the time? Yep. Am I happy and at cause most of the time. Yep.
And... Do I have moments when I’m at effect? Yep, I do. It’s not the norm, but it does happen from time to time. In fact, it happened this week, and you’ll hear about it in today’s episode. I’m human, and I live in the real world. I don’t expect to be able to hit home runs every day. It’s not realistic.
And if you think it is, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. If someone is selling you the lie of perfection, you need to recognize it for what it is.
Look, the marketers have got your number. With all the digital activity going on in your life and the algorithms running behind the scenes, you’re constantly being bombarded with images of “perfection” -- all completely staged, of course. None of it is real.
But your unconscious mind doesn’t know that.
And when your real life doesn’t seem to measure up to that picture of perfection, negative emotions and limiting beliefs set in.
This is why it’s so important that you guard yourself from untruths and from unrealistic standards. Instead…
- Focus on your progress. Recognize how far you’ve come from where you started. Celebrate the successes you’ve had.
- Challenge your thoughts. Question and challenge negative thoughts and limiting beliefs. Rewrite the negative thoughts with positive ones that will fuel your continued progress.
- Guard your heart and mind from the marketers. What they’re selling isn’t real, and it won’t satisfy. The real, the good, the authentic is already alive and well in you.
Thanks for listening!
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Links from today’s episode:
- Episode 2 -- We learned about internal representations
- Episode 3 -- We learned about perception is projection and rewriting negative thoughts
- Episode 9 -- Escaping the Comparison Trap
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