I want to tell you a story that illustrates the importance of taking action to overcome your challenges with perfectionism and self-doubt, rather than recognising the problem but doing nothing.
This story is important because it shows the difference between just knowing something is challenging you and actually taking the action needed to overcome it.
Here’s what happened …
For years, Serena had been watching her colleagues go for opportunities, but constantly holding herself back. When she saw the chance for a fantastic promotion one day, part of her knew she’d be able to do the role, only she didn’t match all the criteria on the job description.
She listened to that voice of self-doubt that told her she needed to have all the desired skills before she applied for the role, which made her feel unworthy of the role, so she let the opportunity pass. That led to her feeling more and more frustrated and annoyed with herself because she felt stuck, yet knew deep down that she could do the job.
She knew her perfectionism was holding her back – she’d read lots about it and had tried various things to help, but despite her efforts nothing was changing. When she started working with me, tackling the deep work she needed to do, she was finally able to stop listening to the self-doubt and start putting herself forward!
Now here’s your big takeaway from all this …
Perfectionism (and not feeling good enough) can really stop you moving forward in your career, but it’s important to take meaningful action rather than wasting time just talking or reading about it.
Does this sound like you? Maybe your perfectionism is showing up in different ways:
- You never get anything started because you’re waiting for exactly the right conditions
- You’re working too much and feel on the brink of burnout, but don’t feel like you’re achieving anything
- You’re losing sleep, constantly worrying about perceived shortcomings in your work.
- You’re worrying about what other people think about you, to the point where it’s all you can think about
Now, there’s a lot more I want to tell you about this, and what I’ve talked about here is just the tip of the iceberg.
I urge you to book a one to one call with me so that you can start the journey to overcome the perfectionism and self-doubt that’s holding you back.
