Being a perfectionist. “Demand it of yourself and you’ll always be unsatisfied. Demand it of others and you’ll always be disappointed.”
Many times, the reason a perfectionist is disorganized is that she believes that she can’t get her office to look 100% perfect, so why try? But wouldn’t it be better to have an 80% organized office than a 100% cluttered office?
If you find yourself in these shoes shaking your head, let go of your perfectionist beliefs for a week and see if your life comes crumbling down. (Hint: it won’t). We challenge you to let things lie where they are without constantly straightening them, return a library book after its due date, hand in a report after your first draft, or organize a room for only one hour and allow yourself to be happy with the results. As recovering perfectionists, we find it liberating to be less-than-perfect. Let’s face it … life is less than perfect.
Perfection is exhausting. Ask yourself … will it really matter if what I’m doing isn’t perfect? Perhaps if you’re a brain surgeon … yes! Ok, sometimes, you may have to be perfect … but not 24/7. Imagine how much time you’ll save by letting go of the unnecessary perfection. Give it a try. We believe you’ll be amazed at how much more energy and time you’ll have for the many other more important things in your life.