Stop Trying to Be Perfect

People who pursue unrealistic standards take the motto "be the best you can be" to heart. Thinking this will get them ahead in business and personal goals, they instead lose relationships and stress themselves into illness.

• A set of habits, so deeply ingrained that they take over your life, is what drives us to be perfect. You must learn to minimize harmful habits, and finally get rid of them.
• Assessment 101. Keep a journal, and record any situation or activity that triggers a perfectionist episode.
  Does it cause you to miss work deadlines? Were you procrastinating, or spending too much time rechecking your work?
• Identify your thoughts in a perfectionist situation, and the beliefs behind them. Are you going to be terribly upset if you find a single typo?
• Find a realistic alternative. Remind yourself that many successful people made mistakes on their journey. In time you will get better at spotting triggers, and will be able to control and change them.
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  Notice patterns such as; all or nothing thinking, catastrophe theories, and anything with the word "should".
• Have a counter argument prepared when thoughts of being perfect appear. Continuing this behavior prevents recognizing it's impact on others