136. Beyond Perfect: Discovering the Root Cause of Perfectionism

In this new episode The Wholistic Vitality™ Podcast, I talk about the profound impact of perfectionism on personal and professional life, exploring its root causes and offering insights for overcoming this mindset. I touch on how the quest for perfection, ingrained through societal and professional expectations, leads to stress, anxiety, and potentially detrimental outcomes. I delve into five primary causes of perfectionism: fear of failure, low self-worth, need for control, external validation, and unresolved trauma or childhood experiences, each linked to deep-seated emotional and psychological issues. In this episode, I encourage you listeners to engage in self-reflection and to recognize the detrimental effects perfectionism can have on one's mental health, personal growth, and overall well-being.

“Give yourself permission to explore, give yourself permission to ask questions and be curious about why am I feeling this way? Why am I trying to be perfect at all time, I'd have all this five different things, which one resonates with me the most is a fear of failure, is it low self worth is a need to for control, external validation, or some childhood trauma or any trauma that you've experienced in the past. So ask yourself, if you find yourself being perfect, trying to be perfect, which is causing the procrastination and the overwhelm, and you're putting your dreams on hold. Because quite awkward, you're trying to be perfect, right? There is a hidden feeling and trauma that you need to work on. You need to explore that. And when you start exploring these feelings and getting to the root cause of what you are experiencing, this is where everything shifts.”

In this episode, let’s explore:

• How striving for perfection, while beneficial in certain professional contexts like pharmacy, can be detrimental in entrepreneurship and personal life, leading to stress, overwhelm, and the stifling of creativity and growth.

• Root Causes of Perfectionism:

• Fear of Failure: Perfectionists often fear making mistakes due to past experiences where failure led to criticism or punishment.

• Low Self-Worth: There's a belief among perfectionists that their value as a person is tied to their achievements and that any mistake reflects poorly on them.

• Need for Control: This arises from a desire to manage one's environment or outcomes, often rooted in feelings of powerlessness or vulnerability in the past.

• External Validation: The pursuit of approval from others, linking one's sense of worth to recognition and praise.

• Trauma or Childhood Experiences: Past traumas or high expectations set during childhood can foster perfectionism as a coping mechanism.

• Personal Reflection and Healing:. By acknowledging and exploring these feelings, individuals can begin the process of healing and personal growth.

• The power of becoming consciously aware of one's perfectionist tendencies and taking deliberate steps to address and overcome them. The host shares personal anecdotes of confronting and releasing their own fear of failure and the pursuit of external validation, illustrating the potential for transformation.

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