Don't Let Your Perfectionism Hinder Your Progress

January is a time when many of us reflect on the previous year and set goals and accomplishments for the new year. Once those goals are set, we come up with a plan for ourselves to work on accomplishing those goals.

If you are anything like me, I usually go really hard and am so focused on those goals and my “plan” for about a month and then I start to give myself a little leeway and “slack off” a little bit.

The reason I bring up the topic of perfectionism is because while wanting to do things perfectly is a good thing, there are also some downsides to being a perfectionist. I struggle with this, and I’m sure many of you do as well.

Sometimes when I am trying to complete a task, it is already good, but then I tend to spend even more unnecessary time, and brain power, on either changing something or adding something to make it “perfect”, even though it is already acceptable.

Progress Over Perfection…

When working towards achieving a goal, taking small steps towards it is better than taking no steps at all. Do not worry about it being perfect. Worry about making progress.

I have learned is that a little bit of progress can go a long way. Even just a small amount of progress can make me feel good and that I am achieving something. I tell myself, “It’s okay to take small steps”. As a matter of fact, I am finding that taking smaller steps in order to achieve my goals, make it easier for me to stay on track to actually accomplish those goals.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing…

Don’t let one slip up take you off your path to success.

One thing that I am still struggling with myself is that “it doesn’t have to be all or nothing”. I get into this mindset of, “If I fall off track this day, then the whole thing is ruined.” I really am trying to just live by, “Tomorrow is a new day”. Or, for instance, when I do a diet, if I decide to have a not-so-healthy snack, then I feel like I have ruined the whole day, so then it turns into this downward spiral of just not caring for the rest of the day.

The reality is, it didn’t ruin my whole day. I just let myself think that. It is all about mindset and that it really “doesn’t have to be all or nothing”.

This brings me to my next point…

Be kind to yourself…

Making a mistake does not mean I’m a failure. It only means that I’m like everyone else - human. Everyone makes mistakes.

Unfortunately, part of being a perfectionist is being very hard on yourself. We are our worst critics. If I do one little thing wrong, then I feel like the whole thing is wrong. I am so hard on myself and have always been that way. One thing that has helped me is to realize that I need to be kinder to myself and admit to myself that everyone makes mistakes, nobody is perfect, and all I can do is my best.

As you are working towards your goals, please remember to be kind to yourself and just taking little steps towards achieving those goals is better than not starting at all. STICK WITH IT. YOU GOT THIS!

If you need some tips on how to actually set realistic and attainable goals, head on over to my post about SMART GOAL SETTING.

Until next time,