I know this girl

She is a 20 something law student in her final year at one of our best Universities. She is smart, sassy, and excels at everything she puts her hand to, from hockey to home-baking. Her life is stretching before her - full of hope and opportunity 

And yet. She is crippled by anxiety and shame. Anxiety and shame driven by perfectionism. Permanently on a high wire, of perfectionism. Desperately driven by an anxiety that if she falls off, there is no world to welcome her. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, ever fearful of the shame of not hitting her high performing, perfectionist goals

How can I explain to this sparky, kind girl that striving for excellence is one thing. Striving to excel in her unique way, using her own combination of sassy brains, deep kindness and fierce determination. That will bring magic. Striving for full marks, to always be top of the class, to never make mistakes. That will bring madness. A madness driven by seeking to control the unc...

Is striving for perfection, sabotaging your potential?

Look around and we can see that more and more ‘successful people’ feel wonky

This is despite achieving killer job titles, 1000s of followers and spending our hard-earned free-time and cash on mimicking the lifestyles of so-called successful people living their best lives; fantastic careers, up-to-date wardrobes, the best "self-care routines" and gym memberships and our insta-worthy homes and holidays

We’ve made it, haven’t we, so why don’t we feel like we’ve made it?

What's more - when we look at the lives of the so-called successful people who influence and inspire us to do what we do, wear what we wear, spend what we spend - whether on social media or at work - the statistics show that, in truth, these people might also not have their lives quite as worked out as they may appear

Statistics show that CEO’s may be at twice the risk of developing depression than the rest of the population. That 49% of Start-Up entrepreneurs hav...