#perfectionism

In the past, my brain could only compute perfection or failure—nothing in between. So words like competent, acceptable, satisfactory, and good enough fell into the failure category. Even above average meant failure if I received an 88 out of 100 percent on an exam, I felt that I failed. The fact is most things in life are not absolutes and have components of both good and bad. I used to think in absolute terms a lot: all, every, or never. I would all of the food (that is, binge), and then I would restrict every meal and to never eat again. This type of thinking extended outside of the food arena as well: I had to get all of the answers right on a test; I had to be in every extracurricular activity […] The ‘if it’s not perfect, I quit’ approach to life is a treacherous way to live. […] I hadn’t established a baseline of competence: What gets the job done? What is good enough? Finding good enough takes trial and error. For those of us who are perfectionists, the error part of trial and error can stop us dead in our tracks. We would rather keep chasing perfection than risk possibly making a mistake. I was able to change my behavior only when the pain of perfectionism became greater than the pain of making an error. […] Today good enough means that I’m okay just the way I am. I play my position in the world. I catch the ball when it is thrown my way. I don’t always have to make the crowd go wild or get a standing ovation. It’s good enough to just catch the ball or even to do my best to catch it. Good enough means that I finally enjoy playing the game. ↗

— Jenni Schaefer

#food #good-enough #perfectionism #recovery #stress

Only themselves understand themselves and the like of themselves, As souls only understand souls. ↗

— Walt Whitman

#perfectionism #self #self-awareness #souls #life

Perfectionism becomes a badge of honor with you playing the part of the suffering hero. ↗

— David D. Burns

#becomes #hero #honor #part #perfectionism

In order to go on living one must try to escape the death involved in perfectionism. ↗

— Hannah Arendt

#escape #go #involved #living #must

Perfectionism doesn't believe in practice shots. It doesn't believe in improvement. Perfectionism has never heard that anything worth doing is worth doing badly--and that if we allow ourselves to do something badly we might in time become quite good at it. Perfectionism measures our beginner's work against the finished work of masters. Perfectionism thrives on comparison and competition. It doesn't know how to say, "Good try," or "Job well done." The critic does not believe in creative glee--or any glee at all, for that matter. No, perfectionism is a serious matter. ↗

— Julia Cameron

#art

But I am learning that perfection isn't what matters. In fact, it's the very thing that can destroy you if you let it. ↗

— Emily Giffin

#fact

However, don't let perfectionism become an excuse for never getting started. ↗

— Marilu Henner

#excuse #getting #getting started #however #never

It is only by working the rituals, that any significant degree of understanding can develop. If you wait until you are positive you understand all aspects of the ceremony before beginning to work, you will never begin to work. ↗

— Lon Milo DuQuette

#magick #perfectionism #practice #procrastination #procrastination

It's in our biology to trust what we see with our eyes. This makes living in a carefully edited, overproduced and photoshopped world very dangerous. ↗

— Brené Brown

#media #perfectionism #photoshopped #psychology #wellbeing

Fear of being a flawed person lay at the root of my trance, and I had sacrificed many moments over the years in trying to prove my worth. Like the tiger Mohini, I inhabited a self-made prison that stopped me from living fully. ↗

— Tara Brach

#worthiness #life