Some time ago I read Don’t Overthink it. This part really stuck with me:

When we were painting my living room, my dad helped me see how instead of inspiring us to do good work, perfectionism makes us unhappy and prevents us from appreciating the good things in front of us. I was actively trying to paint a razor-straight green line right where the wall met the white ceiling. My line was a bit shaky, and I commented that the paint job wasn’t turning out the way I’d hoped. He laughed and said that’s the problem with painting your own house—you’re not as happy with the result as you would be if you weren’t the one doing the painting. “If someone else did the hard work, you’d think it looked great,” he said. “But when you’re the painter, you’re acutely aware of every single place you goofed. You can do a good job and still feel like you messed it up.”

He was right. I had done a good job. But as long as I insisted on comparing my good outcome to the ideal one in my head, I was going to make myself miserable. Perfectionism makes us critical, uptight, and generally not fun to be around. Plus, we’re more likely to overthink when we’re in a bad mood. There’s no need to be so hard on ourselves, because it doesn’t have to be perfect to be good.