Creativity

Why aim for perfection when excellence will do?  This was very wise advice from my high school English teacher, Mrs Brown.  I was about 15 and my perfectionist self was devastated by a 94% on my Hamlet essay.  Or was it 97%?  I can’t actually remember, because only one thing mattered in that moment.  It wasn’t 100%. It seems ridiculous, but that’s the cruelty of perfectionism, it’s unattainable.  Good enough is never good enough, and anything short of perfection is unacceptable.  I spent much of my life in that vicious cycle of striving, never measuring up, and the shame of never feeling good enough.  That’s my definition of perfectionism: shame, wrapped in striving. Where does perfectionism come from? As a child, our parents and teaches and coaches are hugely important.  In our desire to please them, and to avoid the shame or judgement of their disapproval, we work hard at doing [...]