‘Perfectionism is like holding my breath.’

We all have goals, and we all procrastinate. I like to blame perfectionism on holding me back. There’s so many things I want to accomplish, but they seem so unattainable and out of reach. I don’t want to just get a job, I want to get THE job. And in the meantime, I play games on my phone thinking about applying for work. What is this mental barrier we put in front of ourselves?

I was talking to my friends about this yesterday.

‘Perfectionism is like holding my breath. And hoping nothing goes wrong. I need to stop hoping I don’t make the wrong step and just step forward, that can only be the right step.’

Perfectionism and shame are best friends. And endless cycle of guilting ourselves for not doing the right thing, no matter what it ends up being. They feed of each other to the point that they blend into one. It’s a dance called denial of being comfortable where we are.

‘This part of me is shaming me, and maybe I can not shame it back for shaming me. I can stop this cycle of self-hatred.’

Like with anything, self-growth doesn’t just happen over night. The key is to enjoy the little steps in between it takes to get there. To be aware and awake enough to witness them until we have made it, and then not immediately move the goal post and miss the moment.

‘Decide how the person you want to become would act and then act that way- even when it’s really fucking hard.’ – Tom Bilyeu

Perfectionism is the price we pay for dreaming big. But the people who make it big put in hard work and effort. Not just in the planning, but in the mundane daily tasks. Having a routine helps, so does meditation and a gratitude journal, but we already know that.