Three Actions To Get You Past Your Perfectionism by a Recovering Perfectionist.

Perfectionism: refusal to accept any standard short of perfection. This is the definition I found when I looked it up in the dictionary.

Hello! My name is Ivelisse, and I am a recovering perfectionist.

The pursuit of perfectionism can be exhausting and stressful. The “all or nothing” mentality can cause paralysis; it creates fear and stops you from living your dreams. But I didn’t always see it this way. Once upon a time, I really believed that being a perfectionist was my best quality, and I even felt proud of being one. Today, I know how terribly wrong I was, and I’m working very hard to overcome my perfectionism and find joy in progress and movement, no matter how small or imperfect they seem.

Here are 3 steps I take to try to accomplish this:

Thinking about what needs to get done is overwhelming for a perfectionist. We are not only thinking about the tasks that are ahead of us but we are also being consumed by the thoughts of “how perfect” our actions need to be to complete the job.

When you are too focused on making everything perfect, it slows you down. Try breaking your jobs into smaller tasks and give yourself a realistic deadline to get them done. Shift your focus! Focus on getting your task done on time instead of getting lost in the tiny details of each assignment.

My best friend got me a beautiful coffee mug with a Bible Scripture and the words “Woman of Faith”. A week later, the mug fell from my hands and it chipped. I was devastated! I played my mistake over and over in my mind. At one point I made the conscious decision to put a stop to those thoughts and I tried to look at the situation through another lens. Even though my mug was not in a perfect condition anymore, it was still useful. I was still able to hold liquid and I was still able to drink from it. This mug is one of my favorite mugs and every time I use it it reminds me that imperfections don’t mean “unusable” or “purposeless”. There is beauty in imperfections and most times, it is what makes us unique.

“You only have one chance to make a good first impression”. Have you heard that before? This was drilled in my mind when I was growing up. While there might be some truth to this, there is also truth in the fact that second chances are a thing. If you give people the time to get to know you, and know your work, they do have the ability to change their minds. People have the ability to change their minds!

Let me tell you a story. Years ago I went to a job interview and when I spoke to the secretary she told me, “You know your interview was at 10am, right?”. I wrote down the wrong time in my calendar! That was a huge mistake! I was an hour late to my interview! My heart stopped. I knew that my chances were completely shot. I could’ve done magic in that interview and it wouldn’t matter, I was not getting hired that day. That was what I told myself, but I was already there, so I had to stay and face my interviewer. I was so embarrassed! Now, to make a long story short, I got the job. Months later my interviewer told me that I could’ve been 2 hours late, and she would’ve hired me anyways.

My thoughts were trying to sabotage me but second chances are a thing and most people in this world are open to them. Reframe your thoughts! There is really no universal law that says that we need to get things perfect (or even right!) in our first try.

Now, these are easier said than done, but what is that saying again…? Oh, right! Practice makes perfect!

Ivelisse Gonzalez is a coach and the founder of Genesis Family and Personal Coaching.

Find more about Ivelisse by visiting her website, https://thegenesislife.com/