Perfectionism is a really damaging habit. Yes, habit. And habits can be changed. Let's look at some ways to work on it!

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Yes, we're starting off with the hard (and efficient) things! Find something where your perfectionism is holding you back. Now do it, but it HAS to be  a shoddy version.

Fail on purpose

This teaches your brain that making mistakes and failing is not fatal. Over time, it can remove that irrational fear of things not being perfect.

Why does this work?

A cognitive bias is an irrational but often unconsious way of thinking.   Stuff has to be perfect or they are worth nothing? That's cognitive bias right there. More below.

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eradicate cognitive bias

See your problem from a friendly outsider's perspective. What if a very good friend or sibling was in your situation? How would you judge their efforts?

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perspective

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Will this really change the course of your life drastically? Will it matter at all in 5 years? Can you really not survive a failure here?

big picture

Perfectionists need to work on compromising a little. Our standards are so high that no one can meet them, making us constantly disappointed. Learn to love acceptable instead of perfect.

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compromise

Make these practices a part of your everyday life for a month and you'll notice a huge difference. Letting go of perfectionism is so liberating!

Keep at it

You can find a more detailed look at fighting perfectionism below. But only doing the minimum here is absolutely okay, I promise.

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