Are you feeling perfection pressure? The pressure to look good? To be a model employee, spouse or parent? Here’s the skinny: Trying to be perfect is not only impossible, but downright unhealthy, writes psychologist and Harvard professor Dr. Alice Domar in her latest book, Be Happy Without Being Perfect: How to Worry Less and Enjoy Life More, co-authored with Alice Lesch Kelly.

It’s okay to have goals. It’s good to set aside time to meet them. What’s not okay is to feel that in order to be happy, everything in your life needs to be perfect. Learn how to break free from perfectionist thinking with these tips from Dr. Domar’s new book.

Are You a Perfectionist?
Wanting to be perfect is normal. What’s extreme is expecting to be perfect in all aspects of life. “Perfectionism is an act of control. If things are perfect, they feel more ordered, more in control,” says Dr. Domar. “Some people tolerate a lack of control; perfectionists feel overwhelmed by it.”
Some characteristics of perfectionists:

* Intensely competitive
* “All or nothing” approach
* Procrastination
* Fault-finding

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