Letting Go Of Perfectionism
Key Takeaways:
Embracing a crisis-mode mindset, which involves letting go of perfectionism, can significantly increase effectiveness for individuals with ADHD.
Perfectionism often hinders productivity and causes overwhelm, particularly for adults with ADHD, but relinquishing the need for perfection allows for greater progress and task completion.
By releasing the constraints of perfectionism, individuals with ADHD can tap into their creative problem-solving skills and find innovative solutions to challenges, unencumbered by rigid thinking patterns.
How to be “Crisis-mode Effective” without the Crisis
What if letting go of Perfectionism was a key part of ADHD success?
A common trait of ADHD is “clarity in crisis” which is often attributed to the dopamine release accompanying the crisis.
However, recently I noticed another pattern that shows up with ADHD In Crisis—Letting go of perfectionism.
Could this knowledge offer access to greater effectiveness for adults with ADHD not just during Crisis?
While I was coaching…. I was working with a client with ADHD who broke her wrist.
She was already overwhelmed with unpacking from a recent move, teaching a new class, and starting her own consulting firm.
Not being able to type, lift or move things, and needing to schedule surgery for her wrist was even more on an already crowded plate.
And yet my client was excelling, getting more done in that week so far than in almost the entire last month.
There is a reason Adults with ADHD tend to lean towards professions like ER doctors and nurses, firefighters, and EMTs.
They do great in a crisis.
There is a certain brain chemistry factor to it — crisis gets the dopamine flowing and helps the brain function more clearly,
but what if something else was also going on?
As I was listening to my client, I noticed a pattern— a phrase repeated in various ways:
“I may not have gotten it just right, but it’s done,”
“It may not be exactly right, but I did it,” or
“I know it wasn’t perfect, but I got it done.”
A lot of individuals with ADHD struggle with Perfectionism.
Their big beautiful brains imagine big beautiful ideas with standards far too high for anyone to meet which often results in overwhelm and paralysis.
But not in crisis.
In crisis mode, the focus is on getting things handled, and once you let go of Perfectionism that can happen easily.
Additionally, a lot of adults with ADHD have been told there’s a “right way” and a “wrong way” to do things.
But in crisis, you are given permission to let go of that linear thinking and allow your mind to tackle the problem as quickly and effectively as possible.
And once the ADHD brain is set loose to solve a problem outside of the ideas of “right” and “perfect”, it can come up with amazing solutions.
The crisis gave my client an excuse to let go of Perfectionism and once perfectionism was gone, things got done.
They weren’t perfect but burdens that had been lingering over my client's mind were now handled and done.
We both broke into laughter when I finally exclaimed, “Look how powerful you are when you let go of Perfectionism!”
What could you get done if you let go of Perfectionism?
Try This…
First of all, reflect on your own experience with Success in Crisis.
Yes, the dopamine was flowing, but does this idea of letting go of Perfectionism resonate with you?
Ask yourself, “What happened when I let go of perfectionism?”
Most likely the answer is something along the lines of “I got the task done and moved on.” Sounds pretty awesome right? Tapping into that reminder of how beneficial giving up perfectionism was, can make it that much easier to try it again.
Ask yourself “What is the goal here?”
Once you give up perfectionism you can focus on fulfilling the real goals of the tasks (ex: writing an email, cleaning up the house, calling a client..)
Identify what “Done” will look like.
Another reason we get caught up with perfectionism is that we don’t have a clear idea of what “done” or “complete” will look like so we just keep pushing and pushing.
Identifying, “Done looks like a three-point report explaining to management how far along my team is with the project, why we have chosen to go the route we are following, and what we have left to do,” makes it easier to identify when you have reached the benchmark you can call “done”.
In the moment, ask yourself “Would this be good enough in a crisis?”
If you had to prepare for surgery for your broken wrist, what would accept to consider this task done?
Tell me about your experience with this.
A huge part of my coaching is about running science experiments. In science, we are as accepting of mistakes as we are of successes and learning from both. I like to think of coaching in the same manner, so please share your success and missteps with me!
If you would like for me to help you work on your procrastination, figure out what “done” is for you, or if you would like an even more personalized approach, schedule your free Session with me below.