How Dismantling Perfectionism Releases Creativity and Relieves Anxiety
It’s midnight, and you’re hovering over the same paragraph, convinced another revision will finally bring relief. You check it once more. Then again. The knot in your stomach remains. Remember that time you finally turned in an assignment, convinced it wasn’t what your teacher wanted, only for them to comment on its clarity and heart? The worry was all-consuming until the moment you pushed through and, surprisingly, nothing bad happened.
Psychologists call this tendency ‘shenpa’—the itch to scratch anxiety by endlessly perfecting or seeking comfort. But as you’ve seen, the more you try to ‘fix’ your discomfort, the worse it gets, like chasing your own shadow. It turns out that simply sitting quietly, doing nothing as the anxiety peaks, is the only way to watch it burn off. With each repetition, you learn that the world rarely ends when small imperfections sneak through. In fact, real creativity, growth, and courage only show up when you risk letting go.
The next time you catch yourself looping on a detail, stop and notice the actual discomfort instead of trying to erase it. Schedule just three minutes to breathe, say the feeling out loud, and refuse both the urge to fix and the urge to ask for reassurance. Afterwards, jot down what truly happened—was the pain as bad as you feared, or did it fade once you got busy with something else? You’ll find that the more you practice, the more trust you’ll build in your ability to move through anxiety—one imperfect action at a time.
What You'll Achieve
Reduce self-sabotaging anxiety, enable more creative work, and improve well-being by making peace with minor imperfections instead of letting them stall your progress.
Sit With Imperfection and Let Anxiety Burn Out
Notice When Anxiety Arises About Being ‘Ready’.
Pay attention to the specific physical or mental warning signals: racing thoughts, agitation, or urges to keep checking or perfecting your work.
Pause and Sit With the Uncomfortable Feeling.
Intentionally resist the urge to fix, edit, or seek reassurance. Instead, name the feeling and allow it to be there for a few minutes without taking action.
Document What Actually Happens.
After a brief period, write down whether the anxiety grew, subsided, or had any concrete negative consequences. Compare this to what you had feared.
Reflection Questions
- When did anxiety keep me stuck recently?
- What would happen if I stopped trying to fix the feeling?
- How did I feel after letting go of unnecessary perfection?
- Which small imperfection could I tolerate this week to build courage?
Personalization Tips
- A writer stops rereading their email before sending, choosing instead to send and let go.
- A student submits a project with unpolished graphics, trusting their core message is strong.
- A manager resists over-explaining a decision memo, accepting that a few mistakes might remain.
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
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