Instead of always piling the pressure on to be perfect or not allow yourself to be anything but the best, let's practice more self-compassion. I share with you how to shift your perfectionist thoughts into ones more focused on self-compassion.

Show Notes:
I’m sure there are many of us that struggle with being as compassionate to ourselves as we should be. I, myself, struggle with perfectionism because I grew up with really high expectations. And even when those expectations faded away because I grew up & moved away from home, that way of living still stuck. And it actually got worse because I believed I had to try harder to impress all the new people I was meeting at college & everywhere else.

And I’m sure many of you have felt similarly & struggle with showing yourself compassion rather than fall into the trap of being perfect & stressing yourself because of it. Which is why I wanted to share with you some ways to flip your thinking from a perfectionist mindset to more self-compassionate. The more you practice this, the easier it becomes as time goes on.

Before we get into some ways to transform thoughts that are perfectionism-based into more self-compassion based, I want to chat about how we view both of these labels.

Some people view perfectionism as a positive thing. It’s this trait that people are proud to say they have because it’s supposed to mean you are the best & most thorough at what you do, mistakes are not your thing & you should be highly regarded. But in reality, it’s very self-defeating because it’s impossible to be perfect, but also it’s just a shield to protect you from enduring feelings of failure or judgment. It seems better to deal with fear of failure instead of actual failure. Brene Brown even talks about how perfectionism is not the same as striving for your best, but actually to protect yourself from the pain of shame, judgment & blame.

Now self-compassion on the other hand is so much better. This is obvious, I know. Self-compassion is all about forgiving yourself for mistakes & failures that will happen in life & knowing those things don’t define us. It’s being understanding toward ourselves when our emotions are more negative & self-deprecating. It’s the idea that comforting yourself is better than denying your pain & feelings. You make the decision to be understanding, accepting & loving to yourself, like you would with a friend or loved one that is feeling down.

Here are some perfectionism thoughts transformed into self-compassionate thoughts to help you get an idea on how this can help:

1. “I need to be better & do more.” INSTEAD “I’m doing the best I can do right now & that’s fine for now.”
2. “I have no room for error in anything I do.” INSTEAD “Mistakes & failures are some of our greatest teachers & these experiences will make me better & stronger.”
3. “I really need everyone to like me to be worthy & accepted.” INSTEAD “The most important person that needs to like me is myself & that’s all.”
4. “For me to be worthy, I have to be successful & good at everything.” INSTEAD “I am worthy with or without success & it’s not based on what I do but knowing I am worthy just being myself & believing in myself.”

Thank you again for listening & I hope this episode was helpful.

Come visit me on my Instagram page @sabrinajoyperozzo to say hi or on Clubhouse @sabrinajperoz

Support the show

Watch the Video Version of RPG: https://www.youtube.com/@realpositivegirl/podcasts
Buy the Planner on AMAZON!: https://amzn.to/3WwthT2
Visit me on Instagram or TikTok: @sabrinajoyperozzo
Email Me: [email protected]