Hello!

First of all, Thank you to those of you who have reached out to me about the upcoming Workshop for Perfectionists! And if you don’t know what I’m talking about– it’s Illuminate’s very first virtual workshop with yours truly 🙂 Be sure to check it out.

Welcome to week 2 on the topic of perfectionism: Understanding the root belief behind your fear of making mistakes.

When I was about 8 years old, I got my first failing grade in school.

And it was for a project I was really excited about. Here’s the story.

For this project, I had to fill a shoebox with artfully-displayed, collected items. I felt giddy; I’ve always loved collecting things + making them look beautiful. I had an idea in my head of THE PERFECT SHOEBOX. It would be beautiful, creative, and clever. And, most importantly to little Maria, I would make the teacher so proud. She would shower me with praises, and I would feel so loved. 

But, as time went on, I didn’t start the project.
 
As the due date approached, I felt the mounting pressure of not having begun THE PERFECT SHOEBOX. I felt stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The rock: If I turned in a complete shoebox, it wouldn’t meet the unrealistic expectation of THE PERFECT SHOEBOX I had in my head. Then my teacher would know I wasn’t perfect.

The hard place: If I didn’t turn in the shoebox, I would fail. But the idea of the THE PERFECT SHOEBOX, and my potential to be perfect to my teacher, would live on.

The little perfectionist decided to fail the project. I decided it was better for my teacher to think I am incapable of finishing the shoebox than for her to believe I gave it my all and am imperfect.
 
Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. In order to get that praise I so desperately craved, I needed to be perfect. In order to get that love, I needed to be perfect. That little girl grew into an adult woman, and she still sometimes tells herself: “I have to be perfect to feel loved.”
 
That’s the root belief of my perfectionism. What’s yours?

REFRESH + RENEW EVERY MONDAY WITH ILLUMINATE IN YOUR INBOX!

How did it feel to read that sentence?
 
How does the word(s) you chose relate to your life? How does it show up on a regular basis?

When are some other times you feel the word you chose to fill in the blank?

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