Perfectionist Problems

I'm the first to admit, I'm a perfectionist.  I never feel like anything is quite right and I am always trying to find ways to improve everything.  As I was fuming over my husband forgetting to bring Jax's jacket to daycare, I started to think - is this a me issue?  Am I so critical of myself that I can always find fault with others as well?

I started to think of the issues that can surround those of us Type-Aers that are always looking for things to be a bit better.  I mentally compiled a list of reasons I need to calm the ef down, and not strive for complete perfection.

Perfectionist Problems:

1.  Nothing I do is ever good enough in my eyes - I noticed a couple posts back that I used "your" when I should have used "you're."  I'm still pissed.

2.  Nothing ANYONE does is good enough - I have high standards for myself and everyone around me; therefore, I always see how something could have been done more efficiently or better.  I wanted to know if this was a me thing or if other perfectionists felt the same way.  I conducted an informal survey (texts, IG, Twitter, and G-chat), turns out I'm not the only one.  Others also feel that everyone could be a whole lot better at everything.  It irks them when they see some task being performed beneath their standards.

3.  No one will ever call me laid back - All my life, I have wanted to be described as laid back, but with my lists, phone alerts, multiple calendars, and mind-melting editing hours, I will never be described as laid back - much to my dismay.

4.  We can take dieting and exercise too far - We are so focused on perfection, when we start a diet or exercise plan, we strive to do it perfectly, and sometimes it can go overboard.  Along the same vein, when I had my son, obviously, I was a little flabby.  It didn't bother me that I had gained weight, it bothered me that it looked messy.  I wanted to be compact because it appeared more...neat, I guess.  My motivation for this point is that I started a diet for the first time after I had Jax, and without realizing it, I had lost way too much weight.  I took the diet like a competition I had to win.

5.  If something can't be perfect, we quit in the middle - This was brought to me from my good friend, Jenn.  She's the queen bee of perfect.  She's my perfectionist Buddah.  I strive to reach her type-A nirvana.  She was helping me with my son's baby shower decor.  I am a selective perfectionist.  We were working on a pendent banner, and I was half-assing it because I was tired and huge (she was pregnant too, but a much better trooper).  Turns out, she stayed up late and re-did everything I did.  Other projects got tossed aside because she knew she wouldn't be able to make them as perfect as she wanted.  But, I have to hand it to the girl, everything was flawless.

These are a few of the items I came up with to convince myself to try and chill a little.  I love the type-A in me.  I get shit done!  However, no one is perfect.  Not you.  Not me.  I want to try will work on being less critical of myself and others.  It takes too much energy to care that much about unimportant details.  My amazing boss tells me all the time, "80% is good enough."

I have bigger fish to fry than obsessing over using the wrong your.

What I listed to while writing this:

Say it Ain't So by Weezer