QuoteProject
Perfectionism is self destructive simply because there's no such thing as perfect. Perfection is an unattainable goal.
Bren Brown
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Striving for perfection can harm us because perfection is unattainable.

BrenΓ© Brown emphasizes that perfectionism is a harmful pursuit as it sets an impossible standard that no one can reach. This belief can lead to feelings of inadequacy and self-destruction, as the relentless chase for perfection distracts us from embracing our true selves and achievements.

Themes

PerfectionismSelf-Destructive UnattainableGoalsAcceptance

In practice

Example use cases

Discussing the dangers of perfectionism in a mental health workshop.

More from Bren Brown

When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. This is why we sometimes attack who they are, which is far more hurtful than addressing a behavior or a choice.
Bren BrownRead
Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it's the thing that's really preventing us from taking flight.
Bren BrownRead
Social media has given us this idea that we should all have a posse of friends when in reality, if we have one or two really good friends, we are lucky.
Bren BrownRead
What we know matters but who we are matters more.
Bren BrownRead
Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are.
Bren BrownRead
Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.
Bren BrownRead

Similar quotes

Meditation is the way in which we come to feel our basic inseparability from the whole universe, and what that requires is that we shut up.
Alan WattsRead
The most powerful moral influence is example.
Huston SmithRead
Drop guilt! - because to be guilty is to live in hell. Not being guilty, you will have the freshness of dewdrops in the early morning sun, you will have the freshness of lotus petals in the lake, you will have the freshness of the stars in the night. Once guilt disappears you will have a totally different kind of life, luminous and radiant. You will have a dance to your feet and your heart will be singing a thousand and one songs.
RajneeshRead
I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat.
John MiltonRead
If you are pitched into misery, remember that your days on this earth are counted and you might as well make the best of those you have left.
Yann MartelRead
I happen to be extremely left-brained; my instinct is to draw a chart rather than a picture. I'm trying to get my right-brain muscles into shape. I actually think this shift toward right-brain abilities has the potential to make us both better off and better in a deeper sense.
Daniel H. PinkRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.