5 Ways to Override Perfectionism

Ordinary Activities to Help You Defeat Your Inner Critic

AuthorAuthor

Anna Seirian & MJ Mayes
August 18, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

“Could you help me start a blog post about overcoming perfectionism?” we asked ChatGPT. We want to be so good that we capture your attention with a perfect hook — and yet here we are, writing a blog about how to overcome perfectionism while engaging it thoroughly.

When your mind is clouded by perfectionism, it’s nearly impossible to do your best thinking, creating, or problem solving.

Despite this, we continue to tell ourselves that our perfectionism is just about striving for excellence, all the while it’s sending us into a freeze response that ensures we’ll never finish the thing. Perfection is the mirage in the desert, the oasis that doesn’t exist.

You may see yourself as an overachiever who is “just hard on yourself” and actually could be proud of your sky-high standards. You may be so tied to this part of your identity that you’re unwilling to examine the heavy costs involved in pursuing such unattainable standards.

One thing is for sure: according to research, perfectionism is a risk factor for eating disorders, workaholism, substance abuse, self-harm, anxiety, depression, and physical problems like chronic stress and heart disease (we’re out of breath just writing that.) What a starting lineup.

But what if some of the most effective ways to overcome your perfectionism are hiding in plain sight, camouflaged as ordinary things you always say you don’t have time for?

5 WAYS TO OVERRIDE PERFECTIONISM:

✍️ JOURNALING / MORNING PAGES
Perfectionism has no place in a daily writing practice, because some days, your writing will be bad and nonsensical. Your inner critic will tell you that this is stupid, it’s not coming out right, or you should absolutely stop; this is normal and completely the point. A regular writing practice helps you improve your ability to override that voice in many areas of your life.

🎨 CREATIVE FREE TIME
Stick a 1-2 hour block of time on your calendar, pick up whatever creative medium is calling out to you, leave all expectations aside, and watch what happens. Giving yourself time and space to actually practice not creating perfect work signals to your brain and body that being imperfect is totally safe. If you’re drawing a blank on what to actually do, here are some ideas: doodling, painting, coloring books, or making silly friendship bracelets (right, Swifties?)

🎲 SOLVING A DIFFERENT PROBLEM
Hear us out: games. Crossword puzzles, sudoku, Wordle, etc. There’s a reason we love games — we’re problem solving, but these problems are so insignificant and low stakes that it’s easier to leave your overthinking and perfectionism out. Bonus points for playing a game with someone else, because human connection is a +1 for you in the game against perfectionism.

🗺️ MIND MAPPING
Mind mapping forces you to leave your censor behind and helps you make connections that your brain might’ve not considered. If there’s a jumble of stress and perfectionism in you brain, write the problem or most prominent feeling in the center of the page, and then draw a circle around it. Off of that circle, draw lines that branch out to the other ideas that arise. Before long, you’l have an intricate web of thoughts, ideas, and questions that spring from documenting the idea on paper.

🌲 GO OUTSIDE
Nothing puts your “problems” into perspective faster than standing in the sun, breathing fresh air, and feeling grass between your toes. So after you spend 30 minutes agonizing about how many exclamation points to use in an email to your boss, go outside. The thing about nature is that you’ll quickly realize how it’s not about you.

Learning how to turn down the volume of your inner perfectionist can be challenging, but the more you notice when you’re being controlled by it, the easier it becomes to do something about it.

Once you’re able to tune in to the critical voice in your head, catchphrases like these can bring you back down to earth:

  • Shoot for a B+

  • Done is better than perfect

  • Start before you feel ready

When you start reaching for these every day things, instead of reinforcing the idea that you don’t have time for them, the way you feel about everything will begin to shift. You’ll be more resilient to the small things that would have knocked you off your feet before, begin to see your relationships at home and at work improve, and find it easier to focus on what matters and let the insignificant things go more easily.

👋 THANKS FOR READING

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