Most of my clients are self-described perfectionists.
So is their coach.
We tend to have high expectations and can be brutally hard on ourselves when we don’t meet our expectations.
Whenever you’re trying to change your behavior or establish a new habit, you will absolutely fail to do it perfectly.
As perfectionists, this is hard to accept.
Perfectionists are strongly motivated to avoid mistakes. Because mistakes lead to worry + overthinking + ruminating. And this behavior intensifies our emotional pain to the point it’s out of proportion to the situation.
We want to feel absolutely ready before taking on new challenges.
So we plan and prepare and think about taking action, instead of taking action.
Change Strategies for Perfectionists:
Learn from successes.The idea of learning from your mistakes is likely to feel too threatening to a perfectionist.
An alternative is to learn from your successes.
By reflecting on the pathways that led to your successes, you’ll be able to see that you achieved a meaningful end despite hitting bumps en route or being 100% certain of success in advance.
Ask yourself “How could I improve by 1%?” This is especially useful if you’re prone to overcomplicating solutions to problems. Because perfectionists want to be flawless, they’re typically dismissive of small gains.
Attempting 1 percent improvements is a smart strategy, particularly when…
- Change feels too hard.
- You’re someone who tends to overcomplicate solutions to problems, and you get stuck in thinking mode rather than taking action.
- There’s something you want to do, but you’re struggling to find the time and energy.
If you’re struggling to achieve your health goals because it’s either do it all perfectly or not at all, consider asking yourself this question…
What would a small step toward my goal look like?
Start there.
XO ~Robyn
Interested in a one-on-one coaching relationship with me? It would be an honor to work with you if and when the time feels right.
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