Perfectionism isn't something lawyers need to recover from. It's something we need to get better at. 🤣
In this solo episode, I get honest about my own perfectionism: the decades I spent beating myself up for tiny mistakes, the podcast (this one) that I kept not launching, and why calling myself a "recovering perfectionist" quietly dulled my sparkle.
I spent most of my life as a maladaptive perfectionist, and I didn't have the language for it until I read my all-time favorite book, The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control by Katherine Morgan Schafler. I share what shifted when I started seeing perfectionism as part of who I am, something to aim in a healthy direction, not remove. I also talk about hiring a friend to press publish on the podcast because I couldn't do it myself, learning to surf this year and being objectively not good at it (and loving it!!), and why you can absolutely burn out doing work you love.
In this episode:
- Maladaptive vs. adaptive perfectionism, and why the difference changes everything
- Why "if you can't face a mistake, you can't learn from it"
- How treating everything like a lab (throwing spaghetti at the wall) made me a better attorney
- Why I quit calling myself a recovering perfectionist
- Excelling on your own values, not someone else's
- Work-life integration, and why loving your work doesn't make you burnout-proof
- A community challenge: the one thing you've been scared to do
Mentioned in this episode: The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control by Katherine Morgan Schafler, and Whitney Harper of Advos Legal.
Tell me the one thing you've been scared to do and are going to do anyway: ariella@thewellnessesquire.com, or find me on LinkedIn and Instagram (@ariellacohencoleman, @thewellnessesquire).
New episodes on Wellness Wednesdays! Follow and subscribe to The Wellness Esquire, and send this one to a lawyer who needs it. 💛
We'd love to hear from you through Fan Mail!
Host: Ariella Cohen Coleman
The Wellness Esquire: Authentic conversations showcasing all the ways to do law differently, for lawyers who want a thriving career and a happy life.
Ariella Law, PC: strategic legal support for entrepreneurs, growing companies, and mission-driven organizations. Formation, contracts, compliance, and fractional general counsel, by project or by subscription.
Follow Ariella: LinkedIn · Instagram · Website
Follow The Wellness Esquire: Website · Substack · Instagram
Sponsor: Superhuman: email, faster. Get one month free
Thank you for listening! Subscribe, share, and review. 🤩