The Cost of Perfection: How Perfectionism Affects You — And What to Do About It

By Yvonne Starkey

Many people are under the impression that perfectionism is a trait that contributes to their achievements and success — that the pursuit of perfection provides the drive and determination that fuels their performance. In reality, perfectionism can pose serious challenges to those affected by it. Perfectionism can have an adverse impact on your performance… so if you want to improve your performance, you must first understand and address your perfectionism.

In The Cost of Perfection, an audio course from Scribd Coach, qualified accountant and study coach Yvonne Starkey explores perfectionism, how it impacts us, and how we can change our mindset to embrace “enough.” Drawing from her personal experience as a perfectionist and her work with similarly perfectionistic students, Starkey explains precisely what perfectionism is, how it informs our self-organization and productivity, how to determine how much is “enough,” and more. She also offers exercises along the way so you can begin putting what you’ve learned into practice.

Perfectionism is a tough habit to kick, but you stand to elevate your performance when you manage to beat it. Yvonne Starkey will show you just how.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scribd Coach
• Release date: Apr 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781094435596

Yvonne Starkey

Yvonne Starkey CA is a qualified accountant and accounting coach and educator who has lectured students on accounting for over a decade. Today, Starkey focuses on Study Mindset, Study Strategy, and Study Habits for these students at all levels. To learn more about Starkey’s work or book a one-on-one study challenges session, visit her website, AccountingStudyAdvice.com.

Book preview

The Cost of Perfection

THE COST OF PERFECTION

How Perfectionism Affects You — And What to Do About It

YVONNE STARKEY

SCRIBD COACH

Copyright © 2022 by Yvonne Starkey

All rights reserved

ISBN: 9781094435596

First e-book edition: April 2022

Scribd, Inc.

San Francisco, California

Scribd.com

For more, visit www.scribd.com and follow @Scribd on Twitter and Facebook.

About Scribd Coach

This ebook is brought to you by Scribd Coach, a new imprint from Scribd dedicated to short-form, inclusive, and insightful personal and professional growth courses written by recognized experts.

Each Scribd Coach course is available in audiobook format or as an ebook transcribed from the audio course — like the book you’re about to read. If you’re interested in the audio edition of this course, or if you’d like to read more personal growth content from Scribd Coach, check out the Scribd Coach imprint page. 

You can share your thoughts on this title by rating and leaving a review on the book page. Thanks for reading — enjoy!

1: Introduction

Hello‌ ‌everyone!‌ ‌I’m‌‌ ‌Yvonne Starkey,‌ ‌and‌ ‌this‌ ‌is‌ ‌The Cost of Perfection: How Perfectionism Affects You — And What to Do About It,‌ ‌a ‌course‌ ‌from‌ ‌Scribd.‌ ‌Thank‌ ‌you‌ ‌for‌ ‌joining‌ ‌me.‌ ‌Let’s not waste any time.‌ ‌

Before we begin, let me give you a little bit of context for this course. As a coach, I work with accounting and other professional students who are struggling with their study habits and mindset. I’ve gone through this journey myself, and I know how difficult it can be. I, too, was an over-achiever at school. I was the perfect student at school. I was MADE for school! I was the child every parent wanted in terms of their performance and approach to school and studies.

So why do I make that sound like a bad thing?

During the later years of obtaining my degree and postgraduate qualification, I couldn’t understand why I was studying harder than ever, and getting worse results. I worried, perhaps, I wasn’t as smart as everyone thought I was. I thought that perhaps I had reached the limit of my abilities, that I wouldn’t be able to move to higher levels. I also felt ashamed of, and anxious about, my sudden decrease in performance. Everyone around me had always commented on my ‘potential’ for success, they commented on how smart I was. I felt like I was going to disappoint everyone, including myself.

While I struggled with all this, I kept quiet about it. I felt alone and isolated. I didn’t ask for help, I don’t even think it occurred to me to ask for help, and wouldn’t have known where to start if I wanted to.

During the later years of obtaining my degree and postgraduate qualification, I couldn’t understand why I was studying harder than ever, and getting worse results. I worried, perhaps, I wasn’t as smart as everyone