One of my kids is a real perfectionist, and this serves her well in some regards (for example she is never late, she always has everything she needs, her schoolwork is beautifully presented).
However, in some cases, this striving for perfection did hold her back.
She used to not want to volunteer any answers in case they were wrong. She didn’t want to try new things in case she couldn’t do them perfectly. And if something went off-script, it caused issues.
We discussed this many times and boiled it down to the fact that she didn’t like to get things wrong. She was afraid that if she got things wrong, it would look bad. She was fearful because she didn’t know things and thought that she should.
We know that one of life’s goals is for you to grow, and you can’t do this without failing.
I would explain to her that the whole point of school is to teach you things that you don’t know - if you knew everything, then school/college and university would be a complete waste of time.
Learning new things is our way of growing, and it’s the same for all of us. Not all of us know what we want from life. Not all of us know how to get a mindset that propels us forwards rather than holding us back. We don’t all know how to devise a healthy eating plan that allows us treats and alcohol without ruining results. We don’t all know how to journal, or how to meditate, and how to set solid habits.
Most of us are sadly just surviving rather than thriving.
But we can learn. I did. I learnt from some really great mentors, and I am still learning.
If you would like to see if I can help you achieve more than you feel is possible, let’s chat.