Perfection paralysis tends to visit some of us more than others, but it’s probably something that we can all relate to.

It’s that nagging feeling you have when you’re working on something productive, but you know you should be working on that task you’ve been putting off. Or delaying a task because you don’t think you’ll be able to execute it well enough – you just need a few more hours of research and then you’ll get started. It’s avoiding tackling the work at hand, and reasoning with yourself as to why you shouldn’t work on it yet.

Perfection paralysis is avoiding tasks, even though you know you should be making progress on them. Maybe you’re worried about what would happen if you fail. Or perhaps you have negative emotions around the person or thing you’ll need to work on to complete the task. Maybe you’re concerned about what would happen if you succeed.

No matter the reason, perfection paralysis can have a negative effect on our lives and cause us to delay, avoid, and procrastinate. So what do we do about it? We look deeper into why and how we are experiencing perfection paralysis.

After all, delay, avoidance, and procrastination are rarely ever about lack of time, but rather your feelings and emotions about the task at hand.

What You’ll Learn

• First, the usual suspects when dealing with procrastination, including fear of judgment, anxiety around imperfection, imposter syndrome, and how to deal with each of them
• How delay and avoidance are symptoms of the real reasons we experience perfection paralysis – our emotions
• How I struggled with perfection paralysis and imposter syndrome, and how I overcame it.
• Learn to tackle perfection paralysis head-on, so you can finish that task that is taking up too much headspace and achieve your goals
• Lastly, My big why for starting this podcast, and how your big why can help you succeed in moving past perfection paralysis, too.

Overall, while perfection paralysis may tend to visit some of us more than others, it’s probably a feeling we can all relate to. By leaning on your support systems, doing enough research to feel confident (but not too much that it becomes its own delay tactic), knowing that it’s okay to fail, and just starting, you can overcome those fears of judgment, anxiety about not achieving perfection, and make progress towards your big dreams and goals. After all, if you let perfection paralysis keep you stagnant, you’ll never know what you could have accomplished.

My Invitation To You

What is the one thing that you’ve been procrastinating, avoiding, etc.? Challenge yourself to think about what it is that that means to you. What are you anxious about?

If you feel so inclined, DM me your thoughts over on Instagram @so_hows_therapy_podcast, or send me a quick note at info@cohesivetherapynyc.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Full show notes: https://cohesivetherapynyc.com/blog/perfection-paralysis-with-karen-conlon-lcsw/