Cognitive restructuring
'Cognition' is a word used to denote a thought or belief, and 'restructuring' involves challenging a cognition by looking at the evidence for or against it. The basic idea behind cognitive restructuring is that thoughts themselves are not facts; you need to consider whether the thoughts you are having are true and to consider whether there are any other ways to thinking about a particular situation. At first this can be a real challenge: we often believe what we think and don't question our own thoughts. However, often our thinking is biased, and with perfectionism it can be biased towards thinking too negatively and harshly about yourself.
Making Changes
These next activities are designed to help you answer the question
How important is it for me to change the way perfectionism impacts my life?
Likelihood is perfectionism has played a two-fold part in your life up to this moment: you may feel reliant on your perfectionism to keep you motivated, whilst also noticing the frustration and tedious nature of trying to perform 'perfectly'.
Approaching the idea of change may bring about mixed feelings; being caught between fearing the consequences of change and wanting the benefits of change. Understanding why it's important to you to make these changes can help reduce some of this uncertainty.