World-renowned emotions researcher Brene Brown defines perfectionism as “a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, live perfectly, work perfectly, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame.”

In 2007, Dr. Carol Dweck introduced the concepts of fixed and growth mindsets and described how these two very different mindsets influence us in various areas of our lives.

World-renowned emotions researcher Brene Brown defines perfectionism as “a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, live perfectly, work perfectly, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame.”

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to rewire itself to make whatever neural connections it makes most often more efficient. Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are simply patterns of neural connections.

We all have core values and beliefs that heavily influence how we perceive our environments. One of the ways this influence occurs is through something called the confirmation bias.

In our Western society and culture, we strive daily to minimize mistakes, eliminate errors, and avoid or cover up flaws of any kind. Students pursue the vaunted “100” on tests. Athletes attempt to achieve their sport’s version of the “Perfect 10”, an error and mistake-free performance.