So, in an attempt to do a screen record to share in my Insta stories of my brand new freebie available on my website, I came across a typo. It literally stopped me in my tracks for a second as about 50 people had already downloaded this freebie.
My perfectionism was a little bit triggered to say the least…
But, then, I took a deep breath & reached out to my good friend & amazing website designer, Kim, to find a solution. I realized very quickly, after a slight panic that it was surely completely fixable.
& I also thought back to so many times when perfectionism robbed me of so much in the past.
I was a chronic over-thinker in a lot of ways, but I would also dive into things head first bound & determined to figure it out, while almost always ending up burnt out.
Any other Enneagram One’s, Perfectionist, Type A’s out there feeling me on this so far?
The truth is, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Where the magic happens is learning how to work with your strengths while refining your weaknesses. & sometimes delegating those darn things! Ha.
If you are frequently finding yourself obsessed with all of the details, completely paralyzed for fear of failure, and absolutely afraid of ever making a mistake, here are a few tips that I hope will bring some peace into your life.
1️⃣ Hustle no more. Perfectionists tend to work, work, work, and work some more. We believe the harder we work, the more perfect we will be. But, humans are not made to hustle & grind.
We were not born to work 24/7, answer work messages & emails during our kids bedtimes, or let the other parts of our lives grow dormant due to over-doing & under-nurturing the parts of our lives that matter most.
We were also not born to be told what our priorities should be, but rather, to set our own priorities based on each of our unique lives. Start by setting some boundaries with your business/work life. I would start by evaluating the “have to’s” in your work/business requirements versus the “feeling like I have to’s.”
There’s a big difference! & take time off. Yes, my fellow Enneagram Ones, it’s totally okay to relax.
2️⃣ Delegate. If you truly are a perfectionist, no one is EVER going to do it like you would & that’s fine! Let them do it their way, take the pressure off of you, and stop stressing over it.
Delegation has never been easy for me & I still struggle with it daily, but you will find a small circle of people that might do the job differently, but just as well as you IF you let them do it.
Unique approaches are going to make for a much better culture in your work life/business life anyways. PS Direct Selling Leaders, don’t pass down nitpicky leadership traits that are overbearing- you’ll lose trust with people fast & your team will not thrive.
3️⃣ Stop settling. Perfectionists can tend to stay in situations that are no longer serving them instead of 1) changing up a system, routine, or structure or 2) moving on.
I never suggest moving on from something that you haven’t given a good college try to. If you’re stagnant in your life/business, have you shook it up some & tried a different way of doing things? If not, it might be time!
The best thing I ever did for my personal business, & in turn, my life, was completely changing up my business systems. I had more time with my family & my business doubled as a result!
I really think I could go on and on, but the perfectionist inside of me is telling me I’ve already talked too much. LOL! I hope this serves you & if you know a fellow perfectionist, share this with them 💙
Xoxo,
Carol