Dealing With Perfectionism

I wrote this poem as a way to help myself and others become more aware of how it feels living as a perfectionist. Our minds can be pretty stubborn and we often refuse to accept any standard short of perfection. It's important to recognize your struggles and accept where you need to work on yourself. I hope this allows you to let go and to love yourself a little more.

Transcript

I am a perfectionist,

But I am also a creative,

And so I face a constant battle in my mind,

Unable to align my ideas with my desired outcomes.

Nothing I do is enough.

Always striving for something above my current condition,

I have so much ambition yet I can't seem to take action.

My brain is on a mission to reach the impossible.

It's never as good on paper as it is in my head.

Flawless expectations leave me wanting more.

Everything I create becomes an eyesore.

What more can I ask for?

I wish I could start over and start over and start over.

I'm a controller.

Perfectionism feels like an itch.

You can't ignore it or turn it off like some switch.

It takes over.

It's a burden.

Hours and hours wasted,

Frustrated by my own self-hatred.

I hit delete until there's nothing left to contemplate.

It's simply a clean slate.

Nothing to dissect.

I am rarely impressed or proud with what I have done.

I'm only stressed about what comes next,

On to the next level of success,

And never looking back saying,

Look how far I've come.

If old me were told what goals we've achieved,

She wouldn't believe it.

If I could only stop and let myself breathe,

Maybe my mind would be a little more at ease.

Although I know I'm impossible to please,

It's important not to let your creativity be shortened by our brain's need to sustain perfection.

Not everything needs to be corrected.

So stop inspecting every inch of your life.

Perfection is a product of our own self-deception.

No matter the obsession,

I have learned to let go and to love a little disruption.

So focus on your present intentions and love your creations.

Reviews

🙏🏼 thank you 😊

Beautiful and powerful! An encouraging reminder.

not even going to worry about a perfect review, enjoyed this, very helpful. dont waste so much time worrying about perfection you stop creating things.

This is me! Thank you for giving words to my brain patterns!!💚I feel encouraged and hopeful🙌🏻

Yes! I can relate to how the drive for perfection can rob me of the joy of creating. Than you for pointing out this flaw of perfectionism. ☮️💟🕉

I also feel this. Perfectionism is someone else’s rules. Each flower is imperfect and beautiful. More vulnerability and Love for you

Love this!
Thank u
Blessings of gratitude and abundance!

Your heart share helped me to connect with the why behind my frustrations with my creative outcomes as well as focus on the how of moving forward into acceptance. Thank you!

Thank you for this. There are more of us out here than we think. Beautiful gleaming ideas in our minds that do not translate no matter how we try, if we try. I so appreciate your sharing. Truly helped me today. 🌺

Love your “little” poem. So relevant to me. So accurate. I find I don’t start because I can’t be assured it will turn out “perfect”. Hopefully I can adopt a different mindset & learn to be ok w disarray. What a relief that would be

💖felt like you were describing me! When I look back on my work, I’m amazed how good it is, but at the time I’m so critical! 🙏

Great. V helpful to know; perfectionism is self deception, exhausting and impossible. Thanks

Described me to the T
Thank you

I gave you 5 stars because if I gave you 4 you'll try to make it better😉and it it already good as it is! We lose so many time in being perfect, I admit it, I'm a perfectionist too. Warm blessings🙏

Your words felt like they were the voice of my soul being heard in the outside world for the first time, like the cry of a newborn babe.

I have bookmarked this and downloaded it as well. Intellectually knowing I am not the only one who feels this way is one thing; actually HEARING another acknowledge it - and so eloquently - is another thing altogether.

Thank you so much for sharing your gifts and your work with us here on Insight Timer. I see the blazing starlight within you. 🤲🏻💖🤲🏻