Perfectionism: The Performance Killer in Disguise”

Good morning everybody, you’re listening to the Mindset Matters podcast, I’m your host Riley Jensen and today I want to talk one of the main performance killers, and how it is the master of disguise.

Let me ask you a question—have you ever told yourself…

“I can’t.”

“I never get this right.”

“I always mess up under pressure.”

If so, welcome to the perfectionism club. I’m a card-carrying member myself.

Perfectionism doesn’t always show up wearing a red flag. Sometimes, it sneaks in dressed as "high standards" or "I'm just super competitive." But here's the truth—it’s not drive, it’s fear. Fear of not being enough.

So how do you know if you’re falling into the trap? Here are a few clues:

You catastrophize when something small goes wrong.

You struggle to finish things because they’re “not quite perfect.”

You feel like your self-worth rises and falls with your outcomes.

You constantly compare yourself to others and always come up short.

You procrastinate because starting imperfectly feels worse than not starting at all.

Sound familiar? It did to me too.

Now here’s the big lie perfectionism whispers: “If I do it perfectly, I’ll finally be enough.”

But perfection isn’t the price of admission to greatness—it’s often the reason we never buy the ticket.

Take a second and think: Where in your life right now are you waiting to be perfect before you act?

Is it sending the email? Launching your business? Reaching out to that coach?

Say it out loud. Now commit to taking imperfect action on it this week.

Ever heard of imposter syndrome? It’s that feeling like you're just lucky... like you're one mistake away from being exposed.

I’ve been there. Even recording this podcast—there’s a little voice that says, “What if I’m not qualified enough?” But here’s my rule: If someone hands you a ticket to the rocketship, you get on. You figure it out on the way to Mars.

Stop telling yourself why you’re not good enough. Prove to yourself that you already are.

Let’s talk about flexibility.

Water doesn't fight the riverbanks. It adjusts. It twists and turns. It doesn’t force progress—it flows. Your mindset, your self-talk, should work the same way.

When we push too hard, we flood. When we hold too tight, we break. But when we stay flexible, we find new ways forward.

Case in point: My favorite story from my father being a college tennis coach. A guy named Rob Markosian broke all his rackets during a tournament. I was in charge of restringing the rackets. I couldn’t restring them fast enough. He looked at me and yelled, “Bring me a 2x4—I’ll finish him off with that!” So I handed him a junk racket from another player. It wasn’t ideal, but he won. He didn’t need perfect—he just needed to compete.

🎯 Call to Action

So here’s your challenge for this week:

Stop waiting to feel ready. Stop waiting to be perfect. Start acting anyway.

Start the thing. Send the message. Take the rep. Speak up.

Be flexible like water. Perform like Rob with the busted racket.

Your job isn’t to be flawless. Your job is to show up and fight.

Don’t be afraid to chase perfect in hopes of catching excellence. What’s so wrong with being excellent, anyway?

You are not a mistake.

You might make mistakes—but that’s proof you’re in the game.

Perfection isn’t required to win. Never has been.

Let go of needing perfect.

Trade it for excellence..

And I promise, your best self will thank you for it.