89: Perfectionism By Any Other Name

Warning: This episode of the Inside Job Podcast is not perfect. That’s not only okay – that’s the point. It is now socially acceptable to reject the label of “perfectionist” – in fact, it’s hard to find someone who would say that perfect is their goal. However, it’s extraordinarily easy to find colleagues, friends, and/or family members who say: “I have no margin for error on this project.” “I hold myself to an extremely high standard.” “I never settle for less than the best.” What’s the old saying – a rose by any other name is still a rose? Well perfect by any other name is still perfect. And the language we use and the actions we take as a society still suggest we’re trying to be perfect. We simply can’t. In this episode we talk about how self-punishing it is to live and work in environments with no allowance for mistakes, despite language we may use to suggest otherwise. We discuss the origin story of our perfectionist expectations and highlight how to recognize when we’re trying to achieve the impossible. We also talk about how to know when we’ve done enough, when to realize that our goal should be to do “B+” work, and why it’s important to define success in advance of our efforts. And we wish Nayla a happy birthday!   Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.   To learn more about us and our work and to join our mailing list, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected].   To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes.   Let’s connect! Instagram Facebook   We’d love to hear from you.