The Root Cause of Perfectionism

1min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

A lot of us think perfectionism is a hard, wired personality trait that we're kind of born with or that we just possess. And what I've tried to do in the book is kind of probe that a little bit and look at the data. It isn't only a genetic psychology, psychological personality trait, but it also has a very strong cultural influence.

💌 Sign up to LifeNotes here 👉 https://go.aliabdaal.com/lifenotes/podcast

Most of us know perfectionism as the relentless pursuit of flawlessness, our fatal flaw of having a constant need to meet impossibly high standards. It's a trait that many of us strive for, believing that it will lead to success and happiness. But what if I told you that this concept of perfectionism as we know it isn’t the full picture? And the badge of honour we think perfectionists wear is one big misconception. Today I’m joined by Professor Thomas Curran, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics. With over a decade of experience, Professor Curran is a world leading expert on perfectionism. He has written for the Harvard Business Review, New Scientist, The Guardian, Telegraph and Wall Street Journal. In 2018, he gave a TEDMED talk which has over 3 million views and earlier this month he published his book The Perfection Trap: The Power of Good Enough in a world that always wants more’. In the conversation we talk about the paradoxical effects of perfectionism, how our perfectionistic traits stem from a cultural obsession rather than a personal flaw and shows what we can do as individuals to resist the modern-day pressure to be perfect - and how we can create a culture that celebrates the joys of imperfection.

Sponsored by Huel - go to https://www.huel.com/deepdive and with your first order you’ll get a free t-shirt and shaker.

Sponsored by Trading 212 - download the Trading 212 app https://trading212.com/promocodes/ALI and use the promo code "ALI" after signing up and depositing to receive a random free share worth up to £100. This is not financial advice. Investments can fall and rise. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Other fees may apply*. Capital is at risk.

Sponsored by Brilliant - visit https://brilliant.org/DeepDive/ and the first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant's annual premium subscription.

📚Check out my New York Times Bestselling book Feel-Good Productivity!
Amazon
Website

🔗 CONNECT WITH THOMAS

📕 The Perfection Trap: Embracing The Power Of Good Enough
🐦 Twitter
💻 Website
👥 Linkedin

🔗 CONNECT WITH ALI

🎙 ABOUT THE PODCAST

Deep Dive is the podcast that delves into the minds of entrepreneurs, creators and other inspiring people to uncover the philosophies, strategies and tools that help us live happier, healthier and more productive lives.

Want to start your own podcast? We use Transistor! https://go.aliabdaal.com/transistor

If you enjoy listening to the podcast, please do leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts - even one line helps! You can also Tweet @AliAbdaal with any feedback, thoughts from the lessons you've learnt from the episodes and we can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

Check out the episode on the Deep Dive YouTube Channel.

See privacy policy at https://transistor.fm/privacy

Creators & Guests