Perfectionism and the Number It Does on Your Self-Trust

Here’s an example of how:

You love to create overly ambitious plans.

With lots of moving parts. That require you to do something every day. With to-do lists. Boxes to check. Streaks to maintain. Planners and calendars. Pretty pens. Reminders. Apps to track your progress.

Maybe you want to have the perfect morning routine, workout every day, eat “healthier,” stop spending so much time on your phone, be more efficient and/or productive, stop all your “bad” habits, etc. (Maybe you want all of it at once.)

So you put together the plan.

And you will start the plan tomorrow.

Or maybe next Monday.

Or maybe next month when the timing is better.

Then you never start the plan. 

Or you do start the plan, and you fail to follow the plan to a T.

You give up on the plan entirely as soon as you miss one step. One day. One minute. One second.

Then you berate yourself for not having been able to complete the plan.

This is how perfectionism can easily erode your self-trust.

Each time you do this, you are less and less likely to trust yourself to do anything.

Your brain takes it as more evidence that you can’t be trusted.

Evidence it will use against you in the next round of overly ambitious planning.

Your next regularly scheduled programming of being terrible to yourself.

Sound familiar? 

The problem isn’t you. It isn’t that you aren’t trustworthy.

It’s that you are trying to do too much and for the wrong reasons.

Because some part of you thinks that if you can just follow the plan perfectly… Everything will be perfect.

You will be safe. 

But it won’t be perfect. And so you won’t be safe from you. From what you will think about yourself for not following through again. 

I don’t want that for you. I know you’re tired of it too. 

So come back tomorrow to hear one way to start building that self-trust back.

A ❤️ note to you: The erosion of your self-trust is just one of the many ways in which perfectionism works to your detriment. It also keeps you playing small and from taking any of the risks that would move you towards a life you love. It contributes to procrastination. It increases your anxiety and overwhelm. It impacts your productivity. It stops you from being able to rest, relax, and enjoy your life. And more. I’d love to help you change all of that. Right now. I have just a few spots left in my 1:1 coaching program for the rest of the summer. One of them has your name on it. Send me an email (jenn@jenndealcoaching.com) or sign up for a free call with me to get started at jenndealcoaching.as.me/consult.