9 Helpful Hints For Perfectionists

So what’s a confirmed perfectionist to do?

Here are 9 helpful hints for all you Perfectionists out there:

1. Get Off Your Case

    Being a perfectionist is impossible, so cut yourself some *#^@*%# slack!

2.  Making A Mistake Is Not The End Of The World

    Try to consider the fact that making a mistake is not the end of the world.
    (Yes. I know. Even though it feels like it at the time.)

3. Do Something Fun
 
    Give yourself a break every once and awhile and go out and do something fun.
    I said fun. Not highly competitive, so you can criticize and beat yourself up more for
    not being perfect.

4. Pull A Meal Out Of The Freezer Once A Week
  
   Stop making every meal from scratch and thinking you have to make it match the cover   
   of Gourmet magazine every night at dinner. Yup. Pull at least one dinner a week right out
   of the freezer. That’s right. Frozen Food. It won’t kill you. Or have something delivered.
   And don’t light the candles. And use paper napkins. Pretend you’re on a picnic.

5. Read A Book Just For Fun

   Read a book. Just for fun. FYI, this means:
 

• No business books on how to improve yourself so you can learn to influence people or you can feel, once again, the pressure of having to make lots of money or else you will be one step closer to the poor house.

• No biographies of successful famous people, like Warren Buffet, who is wonderful but none of us have his brain and you will only end up feeling like you should have known what he seemed to figure out so easily and end up feeling stupid as a result. 

• No self help books to help you become a better person.

• No spiritual books so you can become an even better person, but will ultimately make you, the confirmed perfectionist, feel that you will never measure up to the Head Spiritual Honchos.

So, remember, this means, A Book. Fiction. Nothing to learn or grow from. No pressure to perform, succeed or fail. Just a plain old book that brings you distraction and joy.

6. Be Present, Happy and At Peace Now
  
   Try to be present, happy and at peace now. Right where you
are. This minute. As the
   Dalai Lama has said, “If you think of this one
second, right now, this breath, what
   huge problem do you really have?”
You can’t think of one right? OK then.
 
7. Breathe Deeply

   Well, come to think of it,  that “Be Here Now” advice is for all
of you non perfectionists
   out there. The rest of us perfectionists have
to struggle with that oh so challenging peace
   of mind issue. We are busy right now, in fact,  torturing ourselves about the past, the
   present and the future.

   But truthfully now, even the worst of us perfectionists could
   possibly, hopefully, maybe manage one second, a day, of peace.
  
  Breathe.

  No problems this second.

  Now go back to torturing yourselves.

8.  Make A Mistake On Purpose

   Make a mistake. Deliberately. See how you don’t die. And take comfort in the fact that
  even the great master rug and quilt makers weaved or stitched in a deliberate
  mistake somewhere into their rugs or quilts because they believed only God Is Perfect.

  So think about this for a moment. You wouldn’t want to offend the “Big Almighty Ones
  Out There Somewhere” and steal some of “Their Thunder” by trying to be perfect in
  every moment, in every situation with every person, now would you?

So go ahead.

Make  a mistake.

Don’t rain on “Their Parade.”

9. The Only Real Mistake Is An Experience We Don’t Learn From

  And finally, the only real mistake is a less than stellar experience that we don’t learn
  from.

So take heart all you perfectionists out there. You can do this. It may take some focused
and concerted effort on your part, but you really can do this. In fact, I tried these nine small steps and I actually liked it. You, too,  might even feel a little, eensy, weensy less pressure for a change.

Now wouldn’t that be a relief?