Many people follow the ‘practice makes perfect’ phrase, although the reality is no one is perfect and striving for this can often be disheartening as there is always room for improvement! Although it is important to be motivated and self-driven at work, it is essential to not set targets too high which you are unlikely to meet.
Perfectionism can negatively affect the workplace environment and make it harder for teams to get along. If colleagues could choose between working with a perfectionist or a non-perfectionist they would often choose the person with realistic expectations of themselves, and the team.
Here are some tips to help you change the perfectionist mindset:
Don’t compare yourself to others:
Competition in the workplace will only make your life more challenging, when comparing ourselves to others we are just setting ourselves up for disappointment as we are each on our own paths. Avoid negatively comparing yourself to others and instead focus on yourself and your strengths to allow for personal success. Although, it can be useful to keep an eye on how others are performing, for example if you are new to a company, as you will need to understand how things work and it’s an opportunity to learn from them.
Set realistic goals:
Make sure to set goals that are realistic, as when you achieve them you can reward yourself which will make you appreciate what you have done and shows you have met the goals you set yourself. It is important to not set your standards too high as if you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving then this will only decrease your confidence and set you back.
Realise that no one is perfect:
And that includes you! Sometimes people can get carried away with the idea of perfection. Although having ambition and drive is important, putting yourself under undue pressure to be always perfect will have a negative impact on not only your business but your health too. Its also important to make sure that you are not putting unfair stress on people around you to be perfect too.
A small amount of perfectionism is not a bad thing when it creates a way to improve skills and knowledge, it is when perfectionism creates a sense of never feeling good enough which then leads to negatively impacting the way you work.