Here she is… my annoying Inner Perfectionist. I call her Perfectionista!

She came up during one of my every-other-daily readings in the fall of 2021 as I was getting ready to dive into 5th draft revisions for my latest novel, Feathers in the Sand. Here is what she said when I asked “Who are you?” and “What message do you have for me today?”

I am the one who wants the gold stars of approval and who stays awake at night when I don’t get them. I am the one who wants everyone to love me and my work. I am the one who makes myself crazy when I don’t get accolades for my work. I am the one who seeks approval and who feels dizzy when I don’t get it.

My message for you today is this- Yes, I want people to like me, but mostly I want YOU to like me! I strive to be perfect and there is nothing wrong with that, but when that is my only goal, it becomes a problem.

So, as you sit down to work on/play with the 5th draft of your new novel, remember that you’re not striving for PERFECTION, just for IMPROVEMENT. I work best that way. That’s my original intention: improvement, not perfection.

This was SO helpful for me during my revision process! Take a moment to check in with your own Inner Family. Is there a Perfectionist who sometimes gets out of control? Trying bringing this part of you back into balance by reminding her that you’d like to strive for improvement rather than perfection.