The Perfection Trap: Why Perfectionism Is Your Enemy - World Expert Professor Thomas Curran

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

June 29, 2023

Duration

1h 36m

Channel

Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

[Free 3-hour course] Turn your expertise into a $100k/year income stream → https://go.lifestylebusiness.com/lbafound Make money with the skills you already have: https://go.aliabdaal.com/lbapoddesc Subscribe to LifeNotes 👉 https://go.aliabdaal.com/lifenotes_deepdive Sponsored by Huel - go to https://www.huel.com/deepdive and with your first order you’ll get a free t-shirt and shaker. Sponsored by Trading 212 - To get free fractional shares worth up to 100 EUR/GBP, you can open an account with Trading 212 through this link https://trading212.com/promocodes/ALI. Terms apply. This is not financial advice. When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Sponsored by Brilliant - visit https://brilliant.org/DeepDive/ and the first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant's annual premium subscription. 📚 Check Out My New York Times Bestselling Book Feel-Good Productivity! 👉 https://go.feelgoodproductivity.com/podcast 📧 Sign up for LifeNotes - my weekly newsletter where I share actionable productivity tips, practical life advice, and high-quality insights from across the web directly to your inbox. 👉https://go.aliabdaal.com/lifenotes/podcast Most of us know perfectionism as the relentless pursuit of flawlessness, our fatal flaw of having a constant need to meet impossibly high standards. It's a trait that many of us strive for, believing that it will lead to success and happiness. But what if I told you that this concept of perfectionism as we know it isn’t the full picture? And the badge of honour we think perfectionists wear is one big misconception. Today I’m joined by Professor Thomas Curran, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics. With over a decade of experience, Professor Curran is a world leading expert on perfectionism. He's written for the Harvard Business Review, New Scientist, The Guardian, Telegraph and Wall Street Journal. In 2018, he gave a TEDMED talk which has over 3 million views and earlier this month he published his book The Perfection Trap: The Power of Good Enough in a world that always wants more’. In the conversation we talk about the paradoxical effects of perfectionism, how our perfectionistic traits stem from a cultural obsession rather than a personal flaw and shows what we can do as individuals to resist the modern-day pressure to be perfect - and how we can create a culture that celebrates the joys of imperfection. Season 6 Episode 4 00:00 Intro 01:27 What is the definition of perfectionism? 04:07 How do you measure perfectionism? 05:39 Why is perfectionism bad? 10:21 Is perfectionism genetic, cultural or gendered? 20:28 If their data around childhood and perfectionism? 21:58 Healthy striving vs perfectionism 28:02 Your experience and strategies 36:42 The multidimensional model of perfectionism 42:52 Perfectionism and narcissism 45:08 How does perfectionism contribute to lower productivity? 50:02 Self sabotage 53:00 Action points to get over perfectionism 01:11:06 What’s your take on social media? 01:17:23 Why don’t you believe in the growth mindset? 01:22:24 The tyranny of should 01:27:28 Your take on goals 01:32:01 Helpful ways to break through procrastination 01:35:08 Parting thoughts 🔗 CONNECT WITH THOMAS 📕 The Perfection Trap: Embracing The Power Of Good Enough - https://geni.us/AT0Hecx 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/thom_curran 💻 Website - https://www.thomascurran.co.uk/ 👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-curran-0466021a9/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH ALI 🎥 YouTube Channel - https://youtube.com/aliabdaal 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/aliabdaal 📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/aliabdaal 💻 Website - https://aliabdaal.com 👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-abdaal/ 📄SHOW NOTES & TRANSCRIPT Visit the website for the transcript and highlights from the conversation - https://aliabdaal.com/podcast/ 🎙 ABOUT THE PODCAST Deep Dive is the podcast that delves into the minds of entrepreneurs, creators and other inspiring people to uncover the philosophies, strategies and tools that help us live happier, healthier and more productive lives. Want to start your own podcast? We use Transistor! https://go.aliabdaal.com/transistor 🎧 LISTEN FOR FREE Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7gZkflC... RSS - https://feeds.transistor.fm/deep-dive 🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW If you enjoyed listening to the podcast, we'd love for you to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts to help others discover the show :) https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... 👋🏼 GET IN TOUCH You can also Tweet @aliabdaal with any feedback, ideas or thoughts about the lessons you've learnt from the episodes and we can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏 PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links that I get a kickback from 😜

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Thomas Curran

  guest

  Psychologist and academic researcher focused on perfectionism, author of “The Perfection Trap,” with a background that includes sports psychology.

• Ali Abdaal

  host

  YouTuber and podcast host of “Deep Dive,” a former doctor known for content on productivity and learning.

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal, featuring Thomas Curran and Ali Abdaal, The Perfection Trap: Why Perfectionism Is Your Enemy - World Expert Professor Thomas Curran explores Perfectionism’s deficit mindset fuels anxiety, burnout, and shame-driven procrastination Thomas Curran defines perfectionism as a worldview driven by deficit thinking—feeling not good enough and using extreme standards to prove worth to others.

🔗 RELATED EPISODES

5 Skills To Succeed in ANY Career - Helen Tupper (Squiggly Careers)

Dr Alex George Reveals The Secrets To Become 10% Happier Everyday

Unlock Financial Freedom: Secrets From A $50 Million Portfolio - Codie Sanchez

Navigating Quarter-Life Crisis: Unpacking the Psychology of Your 20s - Jemma Sbeghen

5 Ways To Make $1 Million As A Writer - Nicolas Cole

9 Systems To Build A Life Of Abundance - Sahil Bloom