Perfectionism Did Not Deliver Me To The Promised Land
“If I am basically the perfect example of following the “perfectionist path” and it did not save me - It did not lead me to safety, and fulfillment, and peace – let alone happiness - then isn’t that just a pretty powerful piece of evidence that this whole perfectionism path isn’t leading us to where we think its leading us?” - Shinah
Growing up as a first-generation Korean-American, I was raised to believe that meeting “perfect” milestones would make me happy. There was never any letter other than an A on my report cards, a number other than 1600 on my SATS (and PSATS), or a university I attended with a ranking less than #1 in the nation (ok, don’t hate me – I promise it’s not all sunshine and rainbows).
But while I was on this seemingly “perfect path of perfectionism”, I was also the most unhappy I’ve ever been. This track was making me miserable rather that making me happy – which is exactly what I WASN’T expecting.
And after crawling out from underneath my desk (literally), I burned out – quite literally - and realized I had failed to maintain this ‘perfect’ lifestyle.
Join me on this episode of The Shinah Show as I recount my life story through a lens of perfectionism and share with you:
How perfection eventually became my façade to hide behind, rather than my reality
The lengths I’ve gone to in order to maintain my “perfect” records
How crippling the pressure of perfectionism can be
How I dug myself out of a constant cycle of burnout – and how you can, too
I hope this episode speaks to all of you with perfectionist tendencies, and shows you that we ALL need to give ourselves a little more grace, a little less judgement, and a damn chance to rest sometimes.
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