Reward Progress Instead of Perfectionism

If anything proves that too much of a good thing isn’t always great, the constant self-
evaluation of a perfectionist is it. In striving to be at their best, people can often fall 
short of their expectations just by simply burning out while trying to steam ahead.

Instead of waiting to earn a reward only after every milestone is made, learn to 
reward each accomplishment as a step on the path towards progress. 

Break It Down to Build Yourself Up

Struggling with perfectionism can often result in a lot of negative feelings and self-
doubt. Evaluating your goals and breaking them down into manageable tasks or 
smaller accomplishments makes it easier to achieve you short-circuits in the end. 

This short circuits sometimes grander expectations of getting everything done at 
once and teaches the mind to compartmentalize better. These micro-achievements 
build on each other to increase a sense of completion and comprehension, which can 
have a direct and positive impact on someone’s self-esteem when they’re struggling 
to feel they have it all under control.

In many cases, a goal may be lifelong or ongoing — which means looking at 
everything as only a work in progress instead of some peak to reach goes a long way 
towards easing stress.

Holding Yourself Accountable with Kindness

There’s nothing wrong with striving for excellence, but if that comes at a cost to 
sanity or self-esteem, then somethings definitely not right. Staying kind and 
understanding about your own flaws and inconsistencies is key to sharing that 
generosity of spirit with others. 

When you’re your own worst enemy, you have firsthand knowledge of what makes 
you feel the most vulnerable and like a failure. While it’s common for perfectionists to 
engage in harsh and demeaning self-talk, it’s all the more powerful when they can 
use positive reinforcements instead. 

Look back at your track record for the successes instead of the failures and know 
when to give yourself a break.

Stay Challenged Enough to Be Inspired

For the practiced perfectionist, advice that tells them to chill out and do as little as 
possible might as well be a punishment. There’s a fine balance to strike between 
being an industrious individual and a stressed-out mess, though.

Scheduling each day with a reliable routine and some basic structure helps a lot of 
people keep a sense of accomplishment going on an everyday level. Plugging in 
special projects, ideas or necessary tasks into this daily schedule can manage those 
higher functioning goals working despite any ups and downs throughout the weeks.

Understanding how to compartmentalize expectations using rotating schedules and a 
fair measure of time management helps keep you busy but flexible in case changes 
or challenges to your plan arise.

