For some of us, the need to be perfect holds us back from being the best performers we can be.
Though it’s important to seek excellence in whatever you’re doing in the cam room, the desire to be “perfect” is detrimental to our mental health and career success.
Don’t believe me?
The quest for perfection can manifest itself in some of the following negative ways:
- The inability to take risks – “If I can’t be perfect at it I might as well not try at all.”
- Procrastination – “I’ll put it off until I can do it perfectly” – which never comes.
- Depression – “I’m flawed and unhappy because I’m not perfect.”
- Unhealthy Comparison & Competition – “That person’s perfect, I’m not so I want to destroy them.”
- Burn out – “I’m exhausted because I can’t finish anything until it’s perfect.”
I think we can agree that all of these are serious problems.
What we should be striving for is our best, but for many of us that’s never good enough.
How can we stop the self-flagellation and let go of the burden of being perfect?
We must rethink what perfection means.
Imperfections are what make us unique and therefore our “flaws” and inability to do things perfectly are part of our humanness and beauty.
Look at the Mona Lisa, her smile is completely off, it’s not symmetrical and she’s no great beauty. Yet she’s one of the most famous paintings on the planet and people come from all around the world to look at her. Imagine if she was “perfect” how uninteresting would she be?
If we can get our brain around the fact that imperfections are indeed perfect we can accept them and let go of the desire to be perfect.
We must practice letting go of the need for perfection.
Check in with the fact that when you cling to being perfect, it gives you an excuse to never start things as we’re afraid to make mistakes. But without risk we cannot prosper.
“Failures” breed success, doing nothing (or being so perfect we are afraid to try) breeds failure.
Don’t take on the judgements of the outside world.
As stated in Psychology Today, “Perfectionism stays alive when you look for other people to give you worth, relying on their opinions to give you a sense of your value.” Take to heart the wise words of the great psychologist Carl Jung who said “Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams, who looks inside, awakes.”
Connect with the “Now” and find joy in the journey.
Realize that your work as a performer is an exciting ride – you will always be improving and must find happiness in the adventure. Stay in the moment, put one foot in front of the other and give yourself a pat on the back for every step you take toward your goal.
It doesn’t have to be a perfect step it just has to be a step.
Main photo credit: iStock.com/designer491
Second photo credit: iStock.com/KatarzynaBialasiewicz
Third photo credit: iStock.com/Andrzej Rostek
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Alyssa Collins hails from Minnesota, where snowy days were the perfect excuse to stay warm inside and write. Over the years, she turned that joy into a career and has authored numerous articles for various publications (under pen names). Email Alyssa via alyssa@ynot.com.
