Summary::

Is there anyone out there that's a perfectionist? And if so...how is it helping you?

If you're thinkin' mmm maybe, some reason that you might be a perfectionist are as follows:

* you're extremely hard on yourself

* your standards are crazy high

* you need other people to do things your way and perfectly

* there is no room for mistakes

* you operate in an all or nothing manner. You're either the best of don't do it.

* you spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to finish up something so it's perfect

Now that I've started this podcast, I actually am not so fond of it anymore, as too many of those described me! How about you, can you relate to any I mentioned?

First, let me mention, I'm totally on board that it's important to always give you best and not simply take the easy way out; I think things should always be done to the best of our abilities. I was brought up being praised for doing good and punished for doing badly. I quickly learned that it was way easier to be the best than fall short. I can still see this in myself today, where I will take on so many projects just because I know I can do them well. Or I'll post something online and wait to be validated by a certain number of likes.

So let's dive more into this. We know that giving our all is a good practice to get into, but when does this get to be too much. It can honestly be boiled down to when it doesn't make you happy. It's not fun to kill yourself while trying to make something perfect. It's lame to only be excited if you are the best. It's a waste of time to spend copious amounts of time on something unnecessarily. And it not only annoys but hurts other people when nothing they do is good enough.

Let's talk on this a bit. If you find yourself trying to not only make yourself perfect but also those around you, please stop. I'll tell you a secret. No one is interested in your perfection. There. I said it. You're now free to be imperfect, I have totally given you permission for the rest of your life!!! If you find that no one can do the right thing around you (if they only did this, or if they only got a different job, or if they only had other friends...) think about why it bothers you so much. Are they really doing something bad? Or are they just not doing the exact things you want. Remember, they have their life, you have your life. Release control and turn into a supporter. It isn't fair or your job to push your perfectionism on other people.

Okay now that we are all supporters, let's get back to me and you. Let's think about how releasing some perfection in our lives could benefit us.

* relationships thrive because we support instead of criticizing

* we are happier with ourselves and our accomplishments

* our health improved because we aren't always stressed out about doing enough

* we create things faster because we realize done is better than perfect

* we have more time because we allow ourselves to delegate more tasks

So what should we be doing to achieve this healthy balance of doing enough but not going over the top?

First, realize what is healthy and realize what is kinda cray cray. If you need to ask somebody to help, take a humble pill and go ask someone what behaviors you could improve. Someone sorta nice would be a good option.

Next, don't think of things as either succeeding or failing. You know that phrase fail forward. It means even if you didn't get the outcome you wished for, you know a heck of a lot more than what you did at the beginning. Learn to enjoy the journey.

Another is to release something before you think it is perfect. Try it. If it's a podcast like this, I can release it and I'm already onto the next one a few days later - absolutely no ...