Embrace action over perfection during Mental Health Awareness Month

Psychologist outlines ways you can reduce perfectionist tendencies this month

In this month’s Mind Matters column, Anjula Siddhartha writes about how to overcome perfectionism during Mental Health Awareness Month. (DEV ASANGBAM PHOTO/UNSPLASH)

---

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to pause and reflect on your daily life.

In this month’s column, I will first discuss how you should approach your daily life and why, despite your best efforts, you fail to achieve the satisfaction of having a good day.

This will be followed by tips to help with your mental health awareness.

You know how busy life is for you, juggling a never-ending daily to-do list, home care, and career goals. While striving for perfection and doing your best, you cannot afford half-hearted attempts, as you lose track of time, become overwhelmed, and often leave some tasks unfinished.

Your habit of always striving for perfection is due to the priming process. Priming explains why you aim for perfection based on your experiences.

Perfectionism, a form of black-and-white thinking, is a cognitive error. You become stuck in a cycle of procrastination and delays in completing tasks, which leads to low self-esteem and feelings of helplessness. You often feel your efforts are futile, especially when it comes to weight loss or fitness goals.

The reason is that when you aim for perfection, your goals are abstract and cannot be measured or identified. For example, you may wish to be fitter and start eating healthier, yet you do not feel better. This confusion and frustration are because you do not know how high to aim or gauge your progress. Therefore, you may never achieve your ideal weight or fitness level.

Alternatively, by choosing to focus on action instead of perfection, every small step you take counts. You can take control of your stressors by setting small, achievable goals, such as running for 10 minutes during your morning walk. Here, your focus is on continuous self-improvement and staying present, which keeps you motivated.

Now, I will discuss four steps to increase mental health awareness.