Perfectionism: Facing the Inner Critic

Interintellect Anwar AlKandari explores different aspects of perfectionism, the overpower it has on us, and useful ways to cope with it.

“If one wants to be active, one mustn’t be afraid to do something wrong sometimes, not afraid to lapse into some mistakes. To be good — many people think that they’ll achieve it by doing no harm — and that’s a lie… That leads to stagnation, to mediocrity. Just slap something on it when you see a blank canvas staring at you with a sort of imbecility.”

― Vincent Van Gogh, Ever Yours: The Essential Letters

How many projects did you leave unfinished just because they don’t seem to be turning out in the “perfect” way you imagined them to be? How many times did people praise your performance, yet you couldn’t take it well because you believe that they were just being nice and didn’t truly mean it?

The harsh voice of inner critic keeps whispering: It’s not good enough. And the battle between ourselves and our inner critic seems to be harder than ever, harder than the dream project itself. What is this voice trying to tell us? And how much of the actual truth and potential is it blurring?

In this salon, we will look at “perfectionism” from different lenses, see what factors contribute to our perfectionist self that drives it mad, and whether there is a healthy way to be a perfectionist. It will be a safe space for seeking genuine connection and learning from others’ experiences!

P.S. Grab yourself a drink and get cozy. Feel comfortable in listening and sharing, no one perfect is attending.

Reading List

• Healthy and Unhealthy Perfectionism
• Perfectionism: How to Let Go for Good  (video)
• The Problem With Perfectionism (video)
• Imposter Syndrome: When the perfectionist feels like a fraud (and how to overcome it)
• Perfectionism
• Wabi Sabi Your Life: Six Strategies for Embracing Imperfection