EPISODE 4:  The Perfection Trap

This week, Martin & Jonpaul are joined by Dr Thomas Curran, a world-leading expert on perfectionism. They break down perfectionism to understand what it really is and  challenge some of the myths that link perfectionism with high performance.  How we can prevent perfectionism from hindering our health, wellbeing, productivity and performance?

Guest, Cast & Crew

Dr Thomas Curran is an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics. He's a world-leading expert on perfectionism whose work has been featured in Time magazine, the Harvard Business Review, New Scientist, and the Times of London, to mention just a few. In 2018, he gave a Tedmed talk that’s well worth a watch, entitled ‘Our Dangerous Obsession With Perfectionism is Getting Worse’, and just last year, he published his debut book, ‘The Perfection Trap’.  

Hosted by Martin Jones & Jonpaul Nevin https://www.ophp.co.uk 

Edited by Bess Manley

Produced by Wavell Room https://wavellroom.com 

Resources

• Find Tom on Linkedin https://uk.linkedin.com/in/thom-curran 
• ‘The Perfection Trap’ by Thomas Curran  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1847943861/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr= 
• Tom’s TED talk

https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_curran_our_dangerous_obsession_with_perfectionism_is_getting_worse?language=en 

• ‘Connected’ by John Spencer.

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Chapters 

01:25 Introducing Tom

04:07 Perfectionism and its Impact

08:04 The Influence of Social Media and Secularization

11:25 The Experience of Perfectionism

12:48 Perfectionism and Mood Disorders

20:48 Debunking the Notion of Healthy Perfectionism

24:09 Perfectionism in Covert Environments

26:00 Different Types of Perfectionism

26:42 Other-Oriented Perfectionism

33:25 Creating a Culture of Psychological Safety

37:41 The STOP 5 Model for Reflection and Learning

40:01 Perfectionists and Withholding Effort

52:25 Reframing Perfectionism as a Hindrance

Up Next

Join us for an eye-opening discussion with Professor Rob Orr, director of the Tactical Research Unit at Bond University. We discuss the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive performance and uncover the value of an individualized approach to training.

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