Perfectionism doesn’t have to sap your confidence, sap your energy, and frustratingly halt your productivity.

In fact, the good news is that you can counteract the perfectionist messages that you carry with you. With practice and persistence, your wise inner voice can really overcome the useless annoyances of your Inner Perfectionist.

Are you wondering what I mean? Well, let’s look at a couple of examples.

Here now are two perfectionist messages that may sound familiar. Read the messages and then test the responses to see the size. I think you will find them useful!

Perfectionist message: ‘Not perfect yet’.

If this is something you tell yourself often, follow up with these questions:

• What do you consider perfect?
• It’s possible?
• Through whose eyes are you seeing this?
• Are you anticipating how?
• Are your expectations realistic or inflated?

Response from Your Wise Inner Voice: ‘Strive for excellence rather than perfection.’

Being able to really take this in is such a relief! And it has the added benefit of being true. When you let go of perfectionism, you begin to experience the joy of achievement. As your self-confidence and job satisfaction grow, the illusion of perfection becomes less and less attractive.

Perfectionist message: ‘I know I can do better’.

You may have certain weak areas, and it is wise to recognize them and work on strengthening them. But this is a place where endless time can also be wasted. How many times have you found yourself adjusting something until you couldn’t even see it clearly anymore?

Response from Your Wise Inner Voice: ‘I will ask for feedback.’

This answer is powerful in 3 important ways:

1. Mistakes and oversights can be seen by others with fresh eyes, so if you really it is something to be ‘improved’ they will probably see it.
2. Letting this go and choosing to delegate frees up your time so you can move on to your next task.
3. The more you open up and accept others’ points of view, the less you will fear their responses. This is a very powerful way to combat perfectionism.

Think of perfectionism as a bully that saps your energy and sends you into unproductive paralysis. When you stand up to that bully and celebrate your power to be productive, you are changing your life in a very fundamental and exciting way… and at the same time, you are also finding more time for what is most important to you!

So celebrate each step as you improve your productivity and stop making unfair demands on yourself all the time.