It’s Worse than You Think
The reason this is so liberating, for anyone with even a hint of perfectionism, is that it means you get to give up on the exhausting struggle to take charge of your life, so as to steer it in a new direction. You get to abandon all hope of one day finding the perfect time management system– or perfect relationship, job, neighborhood, etcetera– and
... See moreOliver Burkeman • There's No Such Thing as a Fresh Start
Present Perfect: A Mindfulness Approach to Letting Go of Perfectionism and the Need for Control
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Once you give up on the unattainable goal of eradicating all your problems, it becomes possible to develop an appreciation for the fact that life just is a process of engaging with problem after problem, giving each one the time it requires—that the presence of problems in your life, in other words, isn’t an impediment to a meaningful existence but
... See moreOliver Burkeman • Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
Once we accept that we will never be able to do everything perfectly, we may start thinking about innovative ways to work within our limitations.
Anne-Laure Le Cunff • Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World
the real challenge, in building an accomplished and absorbing life, is learning to let go.
Oliver Burkeman • Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts
Perfectionism has nothing to do with getting it right. It has nothing to do with fixing things. It has nothing to do with standards. Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead. It is a loop—an obsessive, debilitating closed system that causes you to get stuck in the details of what you are writing or painting or making and to lose sight
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