Perfectionism stifles productivity, and it leaves you with anxiety and insecurity in exchange. It is an obstacle that gets in the way of living your life freely, and it keeps you stuck in a prison of performance. Perfectionism bleeds over into your other relationships as well, and your expectations of others to be perfect will cause you to become critical of them. This robs you of peace with yourself and with others because you are now stuck in the role of being a critic. You stay trapped here because you can never appreciate what you have in the moment, as you are too busy calculating what needs to be changed or improved with yourself or others.
So what can you do to free yourself from the painful predicament of perfectionism? You can start by having more compassion on yourself and others. This gets easier if you are more intentional about offering unconditional love, acceptance, and grace….both to yourself and to others. Choose to think healthier, life-giving thoughts on a daily basis. Surround yourself with people who love and accept you just the way you are. Come into agreement with the realization that your value does not come from your performance and that making mistakes is a part of being human!
Perfectionism also prohibits your ability to have confidence. To combat this, you must make a conscious choice to stop worrying about impressing people by your perfect performance and choose instead to put your energy into moving forward regardless of how it looks and feels and to be okay with failing. Did you know that your failures will promote the most growth in your life if you let them? And failure can actually make you more likable, relatable, and approachable. Your willingness to be vulnerable and to show true humility will actually draw people closer to you when you take off your mask of perfection, and this will ultimately breed more confidence in your life.
Next, examine your motives for wanting everything to be so perfect. Ask yourself some hard questions. What’s my “why”? What is behind my motivation to be so perfect? What am I telling myself? Is it true, or is it a lie? In what ways am I putting unrealistic pressure on myself and others to be perfect? What is this ultimately costing me? Am I willing to pay the price of losing my joy and peace and even treasured relationships? Do I want to make it perfect, or do I want to make progress?
Once you begin to focus on all that is right and who you are becoming in the process, you will begin to see real progress in your life. Here’s the good news: God’s grace completely sets us free IF we choose to receive it! If you will release yourself from the prison of perfectionism, you can then receive the gift of freedom and rest for your soul.