The cost of perfectionism
Because you believe this lie – that you need to be perfect – you act accordingly and create a restricted life of struggle for yourself, and typically also for others. It doesn’t serve you! Perfectionism actually pushes everything that you want away from you. It is in imperfection that you will excel as a business leader and in all your relationships. When you can embrace and not only accept, but delight in your own and other’s imperfection, you will soar. And you will support others in excelling, too.
The perfectionist voice in your head tells you
- You are not good enough
- You are not wise enough
- You don’t know enough
- Who are you to …… (fill in the blank with your dreams)
Perfectionism influence your business and life in many ways
- Keeps you playing and staying small
- Continue to stay stuck and unfulfilled
- Staying within your zone of comfort, where you will not grow
- Staying unsatisfied feeling a longing to live out your vision, yet not taking action
- A critical and judgmental close-mindedness towards others (which pushes others away)
You cannot successfully lead and create your business vision from a place of perfectionism. It’s an impossibility.
Why do we become perfectionistic
- Fear of rejection
- Perfectionism is often caused by shame in your upbringing, often by your parents, family, teachers/education or even society telling you explicitly or covertly that aspects of you are not acceptable (example being bossy, vulnerable, courageous, fearful, weak, strong, sensitive, loud, quiet etc)
- As children we naturally believe our parents, teachers and other authority figures, so we suppress those unacceptable aspects of ourselves in a childlike belief and drive to be loved and accepted
- Underneath it all is a belief that we are not lovable the way we are
The Cost of Perfectionism in your Leadership
- You hold yourself back
- You work harder than needed, struggle-energy
- Restricting your own creativity
- Restricting thinking and innovation
- Less than optimal problem solving abilities
- Less playfulness, more hardship and seriousness
- Less than optimal productivity capacity
- Lack of efficiency
- Not being fully authentic
- Not being in flow, which means that you are missing out on business opportunities
- You judge others, and push them away – loosing out on connection and potential business opportunities
The Way Out: Shadow Work & Leadership
Unlearning sabotaging behaviors is an important aspect of leadership development. The good news is that you can work your way out of this limiting mindset and behavior. One of the most effective ways that I know is Shadow Work facilitation – an invaluable tool in leadership helping us first to identify the shadows that are driving our perfectionism. Secondly, seeing and understanding the cost of these behaviors on our own lives and business. Thirdly, slowly transform these aspects of ourselves, so we can step into our true, whole and powerful leadership.
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I teach shadow and leadership workshops customized to fit your company and team needs. If interest, Contact me Sandja@ThePassionInstitute.com
For individual Executive and Entrepreneur sessions
Book your first session here (Entrepreneurs)
Book your first session here (Executives)
Shadow work is just one of the great tools I use in our Business Advisory sessions. Your vision, needs and your goal is determined initially, before we strategically plot the best course of action for you to close the gap between your vision and reality. Read more here.
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