This is a useful and to-the-point article about ways in which perfectionists self-sabotage, and the ways in which they can get out of their own way.

As a recovering perfectionist, I recognise these traits, and am still working on both ruminating about “weaknesses, mistakes, and failures” and applying my own high standards to others.

Perfectly-mown grass

The ways that the author notes that perfectionists can get in their own way are:

  • Struggling to make decisions or take action
  • Worrying excessively about sunk costs
  • Avoiding challenges to avoid failure
  • Applying their high standards to others
  • Ruminating about weaknesses, mistakes, and failures

…and the ways they can overcome these:

  • Learn from successes
  • Develop heuristics to enable faster decision-making and action taking
  • Ask yourself “How could I improve by 1%?”
  • Learn strategies to disrupt rumination

Source: How Perfectionists Can Get Out of Their Own Way | Harvard Business Review