I had depression because of my perfectionism.

1. realize NO ONE is perfect. embrace imperfections. failure is part of success 2. Get started and make a mess. 3. work with a deadline. (allows you to focus on completing the job) 4. improve a tiny bit each time. 5. do not compare yourself to others

I’m just now starting to realize how badly my perfectionism has affected my whole life, my anxiety, fear of public speaking, hatred for school projects and lack of progression with language learning all come from being so afraid of doing something imperfectly that I end up not doing it at all. Hopefully I’ll be able to put some of these tips into practice and change for the better in the future.

When perfectionism actually ruins your relationships with LITERALLY EVERYONE.

I just snickered during this entire video because I'm like "yup yup, that's me, mhmm"

My note taking experience: 5% Actual note taking 30% Thinking of note layout 50% Drawing unnecessary diagrams 15% "That was a bad idea, but I can't change it now without tearing out 4 hours of work" Elapsed time: 7 hours Pages in textbook covered: 2

I'm writing my thesis and I think I'm struggling with this. I spend a whole day on just one paragraph, it's f*cking ridiculous.

Thank you, this is so relatable to me. I've been a perfectionist since kindergarten and I have turned in late papers not because I haven't finished them but because I thought they were not good enough. I procrastinate because if feel like I can never make a project up to a standard I approve of so every time I end up doing work last minute and having anxiety and not being able to put my best work out there. I struggle with this a lot and I'm trying very hard to get through it so it is so nice to have a video like this to help.

You kind of saved my life. Thanks

the exact reason why i struggle with writing as much as i do.

Realising I’m a perfectionist was the best thing that happened to me today, actually, in the last five years. You helped me so much :’) I will really strive to overcome this because perfectionism has been limiting me for a very long time and I never noticed that. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ☀️

"Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you do and fix it along the way...." -- Paul Arden.

This could not have come at a better time. Thank you.

"If it took so many tries to learn how to ride a bike, why do you think you have to do other things perfect the first time". This is so simple but it's actually a huge mindset changer. I definitely think and feel differently just from hearing that alone.

Thomas! I just want to say I'm so grateful about this video, I'm just starting in KZfaq and I was having the controversy of stopping or keeping with my channel cause I don't think I am like the self-help and motivation KZfaq Masters right now. But it's so true that we usually lack of information on how hard others worked and how much they had suffered to get there. I love the idea of focusing on getting a bit better each time and that "Skill and knowledge come through countless iterations, not through executing perfectly on the first iteration" and this came like GOLD in this moment. So that's it, I just wanted to say THANK YOU! 😊

This is the video I come back to more often then any other video out there!! I can't thank you enough. It gives me confidence to let my work be imperfect and to just write (even writing this post I wanted to edit a number of times, but I gave myself a deadline to get it out in a minute).

I just love how your videos aren't just applicable for students, but also for content creators of all kinds. Thank you so much!

Can you do a part 2 on this???? If you have more, I'd love to hear it! things like.... how to become an adaptive perfectionist! I was always such a lazy kid that I never realized I had turn a perfectionist - a maladaptive one. thanks for the self-knowledge

I'm a Maladaptive kind of person, I realized it when I entered university this year, things are still smooth and easy, but I struggle to get to work and i feel this anxiety and stress because I don't know what the limits of what i'm studying are. which leads to procrastination, long story short, what you listed in 2:07 applies to me exactly! What if others that study with me have covered the material while I didn't due to my stupid procrastination? i can't blame anyone but myself. how can I just be soulless when i'm studying? just straight work no distractions!! that's what i'm looking for! Guess i'll just keep working problem sets and see where i go from there.. You did a great job on the making of the video! really well made! thank you!

Thank you!! Perfectionism is my biggest problem. When you were describing the four big problems with perfectionism, you were basically describing my life. The bike metaphor seems like it will be helpful for me to keep in mind.

hope to make more videos about concentration and how to avoid day dreaming and procrastination

OMG thank you!!! You don't understand how much this helped me. I kept trying to reduce my stress and anxiety. I didn't realize it was my perfectionism (until 2 weeks ago). Thank you so much! Your videos are the best and have changed my life!

Amazing. This is exactly what I needed to learn about this week. I'm literally in a tough spot this semester with trying to manage medical issues, financial problems, and academic worlkloads. In trying to understand myself and how I approach problems, this granted a bit more insight into what kind of perfectionist I am and gave me some advice about what to work towards improving.

I honestly think of you as batman of studies, + you come across as a great bro. These videos have helped me so much, so thanks for that :)

Thank you for that. Perfectionism can be so tricky, beautiful and motivating when positive, so frustrating and violent when not so positive. And i definitely rely to what you say about how it causes procrastination!! I really hope you'll do more videos on this topic, as I feel many people can rely. I sure can!!

I struggle with perfectionism thinking about my past, and feeling depressed because things weren't as good as I would have liked them to be, even when they could be considered good enough. Perfectionism is not only about the future, or projects, but I can certainly get a tip or two from this video. Good work! Thank you!

The ending of this video was such a revelation for me!!! I struggle with this often-all of the details that could/should be included. Thank you for sharing!

It's not just that the content of your videos is always valuable and helpful, you're one of the few inspirational people that I came across. It's rare to find someone who's that passionate to help others. Thank you!

this type of video is exactly what i've been searching for - and i'm sad i'm only just now finding it - but i'm so glad it exists at all

wow i've always thought i was more on the adaptive side, turns out i lied to myself because i'm obviously more maladaptive. oh and the bike reference didn't apply to me. i was already a perfectionist as a kid. i only drove my bike when i was sure i wouldn't fall off. so i did it a few weeks later than the rest but never fell. yep it was that bad at already age 4 or something haha i always struggle with getting started but this motivates me to do better! :) overall the video was very helpful, thank you!

wow once again, you got me. I'm a huge perfectionist but the maladaptive kind and you opened my eyes. I've gotten to the point where stress and anxiety have taken over me and you helped me understand and work on this issue I have. I'm always grateful for your videos. you are awesome and an inspiration. thank you.

I love you man I have seen many KZfaq channels but the densed content you create really resonates with me. Thank you for being there .

Not being able to make mistakes is a huge problem. Successful people know you've got to fail hard and fail fast, learn, and then just keep getting better incrementally. I spoke about this in one of my videos recently. Great reminder, thanks Thomas!

This entire video is so relevant to my life these past few days. I've been trying to finish a research paper, and after researching for 4 days, I haven't found the quality of research I wanted. Once I decided to write the paper with whatever info I did find, it's really hard to condense it all into an 1800 word limit. I've written way too much but don't think I've done a high quality analysis. fml

Wow, so amazing. Thank you so much!

You have no idea how much I appreciate this. Thank you so much! In the past I used perfectionism as a way to cope in life and as an imaginary way to be happy, but in the end it made me totally miserable. Letting go of perfectionism has made my work far better and made me enjoy life so much more, so thank you for the reminder and for spreading the word.

Beautiful! Thank you. Thank you for this video and all other videos of yours. I've been watching your videos every morning for a week now. And life has gotten better.

Yes! This video is such a yes. I really like at the end how you said "The Audience never knows what you didn't say" I find that everyone has perfectionism to some point and it can definitely cause anxiety and procrastination. I know my perfectionism causes me to overthink my topics and it makes me want to try to so hard to make sure I say everything, to the point where it just holds me back. Thank You!

Thomas, you have no idea how helpful and on time this was. Thank you so much ♡

I've been waiting for this! Right on time! Thank you love!

What a display of honesty, competence and relevance--much appreciated!!

You're a fantastic orator - I've learned so much from you over the past few months. Your intelligence and work-ethic will certainly take you far Thomas.

it's the video that made me realize a lot of things. almost an year now of watching self-improvement videos and felt like I couldn't do what they said with all the effort in the world (because I wanted to do all of it perfect), but now I realized the problem and I feel like superman, like all the tips and tricks finally work . Thank you!

You have no idea how much i appreciate these videos. This one in particular helped me a lot! Thankyou so much for doing these.

Thank you so much for making this video! You saved my life. I had been having a hard time with my work, especially recently, when I am writing my personal statement and doing my college application. I spent nights and days sitting in front of the word document but couldn't even produce a few paragraphs. Thanks for the advice and please keep making the videos!

This was so incredibly eye opening. I have tweaked my comic story a hundred times obsessing over little things and never settling on anything. I'm so happy I found this video, really opened my eyes to my deep rooted problem and likely the reason I no longer create anywhere near the amount of content I used to when I was a teenager.

Wow, probably the best 5 minute talk I’ve ever heard on this subject. 🙏 so much!

Your channel is super cool and helpful. Keep up the good work👍

You changed the way I look at things with this video. You inspire me. Thank you.

Just came across this youtube channel. It helps me out a lot. This video was awesome too. I usually don't comment because i try to make the best comment and ended up leaving it but you motivated me to do this time.

This was SUPER useful. You've devoted yourself to doing really great work in life, and it shows.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am definitely maladaptive, and I can't explain how happy I am that I found this video (and channel). Thanks for the honesty ..this was definitely a kick in the ass.

Thank you so much for this video, Thomas! Much appreciated!

this has been one of the most helpful videos ever! thank you for making it, keep making videos✌🏽

all my life I thought being a perfectionist is a really good thing but the more I grow, the more I learn that not everything needs to be perfect. I’m kind of really stressed out and anxious whenever things don’t go as perfectly as I planned. I literally ruined every relationship I have with anyone 😞😞😞 thanks for the enlightenment!!!!

I just did a midterm exam and I needed this. I'm happy you made this video

Thank you for this. I have Dysthymia and recently learned that my (moderately disruptive) perfectionism is how I’ve learned to cope with it. Thank you for describing this as what it actually is, and not as the ‘popular’ version everyone thinks they have.

As a perfectionist I have to say this video is perfect to me and helps me a lot to overcome my perfectionism, thank you so much.

Well done for putting it out mate - very interesting video!

I am a perfectionist and I understand how this affects my life in a negative way, however, even though I want to change it, I don't want to strive for mediocrity. I still want to excel, but how do you excel without being a perfectionist? Or do the two go hand and hand?

Gosh!! Watching this felt like a life saver.

thanks man !!! you just make me realize what was holding me back for a long long time...

Thanks Thomas. I needed this right now!

I got emotional of how Dead on the nose all these points were. You have made me realize that I shouldn't be comparing myself to someone who have an unfair advantage and no one's perfect. You deserve my sub

"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor" Perfectionism isn't all bad! The juxtaposition of these two lines was extremely good

I love your videos so much, this especially was a big help.

love your videos! I have found them to be so helpful.

Very clear and concise, and helpful material. Thanks man!

This is amazing. It’s like you made this video for me. I just watched a video about ADHD and perfectionism and it really opened my eyes. But then, I really thought I’d like a video similar that applied to content creation, because that’s something I’m very interested in at the moment. I’m a streamer and struggle with ADHD, perfectionism, and anxiety. These things stop me and hold me back all the time, and I don’t want them to. I needed this kind of video. Thank you :)

Thank you from the core of my heart.

Your videos and advice are excellent. Best in the genre.

Hey Thomas ! Just watching the quality of this video and compared to today, you really proved a point of doing small efforts into big changes over time , it's really inspiring , thanks for the info !!!

This video was what I truly needed to hear. Thank you so much.

I appreciate your placement of the light on the little ship!

Thank you, this helps a lot. My perfectionism has gotten out of hand to the point of anxiety and even depression at some point because I was too afraid to pick up anything. 💪 I'm going to start by setting some deadlines. I'm looking forward healing from this.

I just wanted to say thank you for this video. I didn't realize that all the things that give me anxiety are so characteristic of a perfectionist, and hearing that really brought things into perspective. I do feel like tasks are monumental and I do compare myself to others with even the tiniest mistakes somehow seeming so big. I now atleast know it's a real problem and how I can work on it. Thank you:)

Thank you so much for this video! It gave me an insight of improving myself and reducing my perfectionism!

I cried watching this ;) thank you for the video, I really needed it

Thank you for making this video!

Thanks, the research that you mentioned was extremely helpful. I hope your planning on filming additional videos on this topic.

Thank you for posting the video. I'm quite the perfectionist which really prevents me from getting started or learning because it's so dreadful to fail even the tiniest bit. It's particularly detrimental when learning a new language because the best way to learn is to speak it.

This was my suggestion!! Thanks for the video :)

I'm doing revisions of my first completed rough draft of a novel and having massive panic attacks every day after it, and this video was really helpful to me. thank you

This helped me so much. God bless you man.

This video is pretty perfect to me! Thanks man, thats exactly what I needed.

very good video! I really relate to this. I love the deadline tip

Thank you for putting this out, I'm an artist and I had no idea my high stress and anxiety level was primarily caused by my obsession with wanting to be perfect at everything! Very informative.

What a great video! I stumbled upon it last night when I was at the bottom of a ddl depression working on a project due 2 hrs later... I have always prized myself as a perfectionist, but I never realize there's such a huge difference between me and those whom I often idolize/imitate (the adaptive perfectionists whose failures I don't see). Clearly I'm a maladaptive case, as proved by the state I mentioned last night lol ... after doing some research today about perfectionism, I decided to try sth new (sth I ignored or even avoided before..), here it is: When I do something, like doing an assignment/spending a Friday night/a workout session, I'm gonna think about the last time I did it, and try to improve a little bit upon that. That's just enough. If I'm lucky, which is to say my new attempt works, I will go far this time; if it's just a little step, then so be it; if it fails, then next time I'm gonna try sth different and appreciate the lesson I learned. Don't know if it'll work, but it's already liberating to just think about. Thanks so much for the video Thomas!

Thank you so much! I really needed this 🙏🏻

Thank you for the video, it's really useful. Keep the awesome work man!

I don't know how I came across this video, but I resonated with it so much. You explained everything so well, thank you!!!

I'm a maladaptive perfectionist, have been my whole life. This is one of your best and most useful videos ever. Thank you very much for the tips.

Thank you for the video! That's what I needed!

Excellently said!

One of my favorites, congrats!

Just the right video at the right time , thanks bro :) Keep kicking ass :)

Thank you for this very relatable video! Hope you could do more on this topic!

Thanks for this kind of videos! Very inspiring

Thanks for your points on overcoming perfectionism. Such an important topic.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for making this video! I’m a maladaptive perfectionist (carrying Autism) myself and I’ve struggled with my maladaptive perfectionism my entire life. These tips are super helpful! God bless you, sir.