Unfortunately, perfectionism can negatively impact a person’s mental health, perhaps leading to high anxiety, procrastination, depression, and eating disorders. According to Russ Harris’s The Confidence Gap which is based on ACT therapy, self-acceptance is a key concept in coping with perfectionistic tendencies. Self-acceptance involves a willingness to step out of your comfort zone, make mistakes, assess your actions, and avoid blanket self-judgements (ex: I am stupid for failing.”) In other words, allow yourself to dare greatly, be kind to yourself for trying, and assess what worked and what didn’t work. Go for it!
