The pursuit of perfection was always something I knew I had, but I always considered it a strength until Dr. Nick Molinaro, an executive coach, pointed out how it was affecting me. I hope through sharing my story on perfectionism, I may be able to help others who share in my impossible quest for perfection.

The reason I always saw my perfectionism as a strength is that for as long as I could remember, it was the reason that I worked harder than anyone else in school and stayed later than anyone else in the office. Everything within my control in school and work needed to be perfect, and perfection takes time. Seems like a great work ethic, right? Wrong.

Dr. Molinaro acknowledged that wanting the best isn’t a negative trait, but the actions that come as a result can be damaging to a career. You see, perfectionism meant I wasn’t willing to tolerate mistakes – and so, I became reluctant to delegate tasks, which meant I was taking on more and more responsibilities. Eventually, I was taking on more than I could comfortably manage. Bottom line? My quest for perfectionism had led me to a dangerous level of self-reliance and was interfering with my job performance – yikes!

Does this sound familiar? Are you on a quest for perfection? If so, can you see your ability to delegate suffering? It’s important to do some self-reflection – you see, until Dr. Molinaro pointed out how perfectionism was interfering with my job performance, I considered it a personal strength. As soon as he shared his insight, it sparked some intentional self-reflection for me. That self-reflection led to my letting go of that unrealistic standard. In turn, a weight was lifted from every task I faced. I encourage my fellow perfectionists to do the same – it will change your life.