I did not realize I was a perfectionist. I was far from perfect. It was not until I listened to a master class on perfectionism from a physician coach that I had my “aha moment.” I am now working extremely hard on training my brain to be an imperfectionist. To do that means to let go of the mental constructs that I have created for myself. In particular, I had to let go of the narrative that said to me: You are not someone unless you look like the epitome of success.

I was a young African-American doctor full of “firsts.” However, these firsts did not protect me from the hurt of failure or the heartache associated with imperfection. For sure, it did not provide me with what I longed for most, self-worth and validation."

Frieda Millhouse-Jones is an internal medicine physician.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "A Black physician’s perfectionism." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/05/a-black-physicians-perfectionism.html)