Dear High Strivers
Hello, high striver! You’ve come to the right place.
I admire your ambitious goals and determined perseverance to achieve them, and I understand that you are driven by high personal standards and a desire for success.
Like you, I am also highly motivated, disciplined, and focused on progress. I also know that this mindset can sometimes lead to excessive pressure, perfectionism, and burnout if we don’t balance our lives out with self-care.
Lets start by celebrating the various positives of being a high striver:
1. Goal Achievement: High strivers are highly focused on our goals, leading to greater accomplishments.
2. Strong Work Ethic: We tend to be disciplined, motivated, and committed to their pursuits.
3. Continuous Growth: Strivers are constantly seeking self-improvement and development, pushing our limits.
4. Resilience: We develop perseverance and determination in the face of challenges.
5. Leadership Potential: High strivers often take initiative, making us effective leaders or influencers in our fields.
These traits can foster success in both personal and professional arenas.
As you would know, on the flip side to this are a bunch of psychological challenges including:
1. Perfectionism: The pursuit of perfection can lead to stress, frustration, and dissatisfaction, even when goals are achieved.
2. Burnout: Constantly pushing to excel can lead us to physical and mental exhaustion over time.
3. Imbalance: High strivers may struggle with work-life balance, neglecting personal relationships and self-care.
4. Fear of Failure: A strong fear of failure can create anxiety and inhibit risk-taking.
5. Overcommitment: The desire to achieve can lead to taking on too many responsibilities, overwhelming the individual.
Some tools and techniques for handling perfectionism include:
1. Setting Realistic Goals: Break tasks into achievable steps and work to accept that not everything needs to be perfect.
2. Challenging Negative Thoughts: Question whether perfection is necessary or realistic in every situation, and work with a therapist who can do this with you.
3. Embracing Mistakes: Viewing mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures can be relieving and motivating.
4. Focusing on Progress: Celebrating small achievements and gradual improvements instead of aiming for flawless results.
5. Practicing Self-Compassion: Being kind to ourselves when things don’t go as planned, and surrounding ourselves with supportive people who do the same.
I welcome fellow high strivers to Actualised Psychotherapy- servicing as a soft place to rest and surrender to the relelentless pressure of perfectionism.