Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Practice makes perfect. Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing. In today's perfection-obsessed culture, these are the maxims we live by. Yet the damage that they cause is stifling. While perfectionism lacks much of the stigma attached to today's most common compulsions--smoking, gambling, sex addiction, alcoholism, and drug abuse--many of the negative connotations on self and the family system are the same.
In this revised and updated edition of her original, groundbreaking book, author Ann W. Smith describes the key differences between overt and covert perfectionism; the role early attachment, temperament, sibling relationships, and life circumstances play in developing this pattern; and how to shift toward a center of balance for a more fulfilling life.
Readers will learn how to identify and confront the root cause of their problem, how to reveal and accept their essence, and finally, they will learn the importance of forgiveness and letting go. Additionally, readers discover the key characteristics of a healthy family system, along with the single most important lesson of all--perfection does not exist.
