I’ve put pressure on myself my entire life. I don’t really know where it comes from or why I’m like this, but I’ve just always had really high standards for myself – in all areas of life. I’m not sure why I’m like this. Maybe because I’m the oldest child and that’s pretty common among first-borns? (#FirstChildAllTheWay) Maybe it’s my genetics? Or Maybe it’s God’s way of pushing me to be my best? I’m not totally sure.

But one thing’s for sure, I feel it, and I know a lot of y’all do too! Whenever I bring up perfectionism on Insta Stories, my DMs blow up with people relating and wanting to hear MORE about it. So you know what that means – I did some digging into perfectionism and why we feel that way. And even more exciting, I studied how to overcome it.

I’ll be sharing the HOW part in Wednesday’s blog post (OMG it’s a good one y’all). So be sure to come back then! But let’s take thing step-by-step. Today is the first step – figuring out if you feel that pressure. Or I really just wanted to get a conversation going re: what it looks like to feel it. Because maybe you do, but you don’t realize it? I know that’s my story. I didn’t realize I was a perfectionist for the longest time. But it’s become pretty clear to me – I’m so #guilty. And these 15 signs I share below will help you identify if that’s what’s holding you back as well.

15 Signs You Feel Pressure to Be Perfect

Maybe you think you do and don’t, or maybe you do without even realizing it. Feeling pressure to be perfect can manifest itself in so many different ways that I thought it might be helpful to share some of the signs that this is affecting you.  See if you find yourself nodding your head to anything on the list. If you do, definitely come back Wednesday for tips on how to overcome the pressure.

1. You procrastinate on things, even if you really want to do them.
2. You hide parts of yourself that you think are weird and unusual (though when you do share them with others, you become instant best friends).
3. You’re scared of what other people think and only do things that you know others will approve of.
4. You don’t finish everything you start. LITERALLY ME. DAILY.
5. You let self-doubt control your actions and talk you out of your best ideas.
6. You take criticism to heart.
7. You’d rather do nothing than do something imperfectly. HI AGAIN guys, it’s me, Brighton.
8. You give up on habits as soon as you lose your streak.
9. You’re not going after your dream career because you’re scared you’ll fail or that you’ll look stupid. So common in our twenties and thirties!
10. You try to fit in with everyone else by liking the same things they like, wearing the same things they wear and talking about the same things they talk about.
11. You overthink every situation and over-analyze other people’s responses.
12. You worry that other people are talking about you behind your back.
13. You compare yourself to others, all the time.
14. You never feel good enough.
15. You don’t start a new project unless you’ve got everything planned out and it’s the perfect time.

If you did find yourself nodding to a lot of these, I’d love to hear why you think you feel this pressure.

I think it’d be cool to get a conversation going about why we feel this way. Or why it impacts some of us and not others. If you DIDN’T nod, why don’t you think you feel this pressure? OOOOO this stuff makes me SO freaking excited y’all! Can’t wait to chat more on Wednesday.

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