The Perfectionism Workbook

Book excerpt: The Perfectionism Workbook offers actionable exercises to help you overcome the barriers created by perfectionism and develop skills for living a healthier, more gratifying life. The desire to continuously improve can be a positive trait that fuels success. However, those same aspirations can also turn into perfectionism, which causes us to put unrealistic pressure on ourselves and set impossible standards that negatively influence how we think and act. In his work as a clinical therapist, Taylor Newendorp has successfully used cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help countless patients who live with the immense pressure of perfectionism and other related issues such as OCD, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, or depression. In The Perfectionism Workbook, Taylor delivers practical, effective exercises to help you change the way you view yourself, set healthy goals, and find contentment in your daily life. The Perfectionism Workbook is a hands-on guide especially designed to identify and resolve the root causes of perfectionism. It these pages you will find: A perfectionism overview that will help you understand the illusion of perfectionism, why it doesn't work, and what you can do to treat your perfectionism. The 5 tendencies of toxic perfectionism: Need for approval and pleasing others; Procrastination, inaction, and paralysis; Fear of making mistakes; Highly self-critical; Judgment of self and others. Practical strategies based on the principles of CBT, mindfulness, and acceptance that will help you quiet your critical inner voice, conquer procrastination, and develop true self-worth. Real-world examples of perfectionism that will provide meaningful opportunity for insight and reflection into your own perfectionism. Perfectionism can have serious consequences, both mentally and physically. But there is a solution--and it can be found in the pages The Perfectionism Workbook.