Perfection is Not A Reality

Dr Kristin Neff [Twitter @self_compassion] of the University of Texas at Austin specializes in self-compassion. As a psychology professor she has spent much of her time researching and studying the idea. Not to be confused with self-esteem, self-compassion is not predicated on any previous success. It’s merely the deep understanding that perfection is an illusion and that failure is a part of the pursuit of something great. This does not mean that we strive to fail, but that we learn how to overcome it showing ourselves a bit of grace during the process. Perhaps most interestingly, Dr Neff explains the science behind why we show ourselves so little compassion when mistakes are made versus the compassion we show for others’ faults.

Ask yourself this simple question: What do you say to yourself when you fail? Your inner monologue and self-talk may tell you everything you need to know about how you deal with setbacks. Not only that, it can explain why you struggle with your performance. Despite The Crew’s mantra that shame is an incredible motivator, we learn from Dr Kristin Neff [Twitter @self_compassion] that we may have been approaching motivation from a very poor angle. Shocker. This week, the meathead mentality takes a backseat to a little something called “self compassion”.

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