I have a daughter going through the same things. Her daughter is now 2 years old.
I go in rounds with perfectionism.
She and I have come to a few conclusions.
The first is that perfectionism is a form of escapism. As long as we are working on an "important project" (at least in our heads it's important) that has to be "perfect" then we have reasons to avoid whatever else is infinitely more disturbing.
Sometimes, a lot, the most disturbing thing being avoided, is the fear of rejection.
Somehow, we get it ingrained into us that others can only be pleased by perfectionism. And yet the truth is, most people around us don't know the difference between perfect and imperfect ... with the flip side being "you can't please all the people all the time"
Secondly, as you have surely experienced, perfectionism leads to shut down.
Third, my daughter and I are a bit ADD (to give an understatement) and when we find we can focus on something, we tend to latch on to that something with a thing called "hyperfocus". It can look like perfectionism (or OCD). In this moment the perfectionism is a relief from all the constant confusion we live in, because in the moment we only have one focus, one objective. You may, or may not, relate to this.
At any point. Perfect is indeed the great allusion and I'm thrilled you're walking away from it!
Thank you for the thoughtful comment! I definitely relate to this! I think until recently the fear of rejection or not being good enough has gotten the best of me but now it just doesn't matter so much to me. The most important thing is being the best mom I can be and setting a good example for me son. So in doing that I'm setting aside the idea of perfection and doing the things I want and simply doing my best in each moment! So much love to you and your daughter! ❤️
I'm sorry it took so long to find your reply! Thank you for the love'n ! Let's try keeping each other bumping along down the road :) Please know that the stream of posts in here runs as fast as FB or wherever. So, please please know that you are more than welcome to come leave me a comment on any of my posts that says, "Thinking of you! Come see what I did today!" and leave me a link too! I'm watching you as best I can though ;)
Oh my goodness gracious you are too sweet! Thank you so much! Same for you cause yes things definitely go fast in my feed. Not as fast in my comments though 😊
I love when comments go like that! And thank you very much. Have you seen how to stay out of trouble with @ cheetah? You can find my version here
Thanx! Will check that out right now! ❤️