🎯 Perfectionism Is NOT the Path to Peak Performance

Good morning everybody, you’re listening to the Mindset Matters podcast, I’m your host Riley Jensen and today I want to talk perfectionism, and how it is not the path to peak performance..

Let’s do a quick gut check today.

Let’s talk about a silent killer of motivation and performance: perfectionism.

Are you striving to be your best? That’s honorable. That’s drive.

But believing you have to be perfect? That’s poison.

And unfortunately, in the world of high-level performance—whether it’s athletics, business, or parenting—perfectionism often gets confused for competitiveness.

The truth is, perfectionism is just insecurity with a great work ethic.

Let me give you a quick analogy I use with my athletes.

Imagine we’re fishing on a calm lake. Storm clouds start forming, and to steady the boat, we throw out one anchor. Smart, right?

But if you’re a perfectionist, one anchor isn’t enough. You throw out another 7 anchors.

And what happens?

The storm passes. But now? You’re sinking. Because too many anchors—too much overthinking, over-prepping, self-criticizing—will pull you down, and it’s been known to sink ships.

That’s what perfectionism does: it overwhelms and paralyzes. And it almost always invites its twin to the party—negative self-talk.

You know that voice, the one that whispers:

"I’m not good enough."

"Why did I mess that up?"

"I’m probably disappointing people."

Here’s the kicker: You don’t need to be perfect to win.

Let me tell you about Jim Thorpe. Quite possibly the greatest athlete in the history of the United States.

In the 1912 Olympics, someone stole his track shoes. Nowhere to be found. Devastating right? Instead of panicking, Jim Thorpe found two mismatched shoes in a garbage can. One was too big for, so he wore an extra sock.

He won two gold medals that day. There’s pictures all over the internet about this day. You can see his mismatched shoes and extra sock in the photo.

He didn’t let perfection block performance.

That’s the heart of what I want to leave you with today:

👉 Conditions don’t need to be perfect for you to win.

👉 You don’t have to feel 100% to give 100%.

👉 And that little voice in your head? It’s not always telling the truth.

We use a rule in sport psychology I love: the 78% Rule.

If you’re at 78%—or heck, even 53%—you can still show up, grind, compete, and win. It’s like your smart phone, it gives you 100% functionality until it dips below 5%.

You are not your thoughts. You are not your worst mistake.

You are your habits. You are your effort. You are your bounce-back.

So here’s what I want to challenge you with this week:

🎯 Try this:

Catch yourself when you use words like “I always…” or “I never…” Those are red flags for perfectionism. They are catastrophizers that are seldom true.

Ask yourself: “What would I say to a teammate who made the same mistake?” (Spoiler alert: You’d probably be more kind to them than to yourself.)

Write down one thing you’re proud of from today. Just one.

Because guess what?

Even the greats miss free throws, forget plays, drop balls, lose deals, or say the wrong thing in meetings.

Perfection isn’t required.

Guts are.

Until next time—stay gritty, stay grounded, and remember:

Effort and enthusiasm beat perfection every time.

If this resonated with you, this episode was inspired by Chapter 5 of my book, Pure Unadulterated Guts.

Grab your copy on Amazon.

Let’s keep chasing growth.

1% better—every day.