The Hidden Cost of Perfection (and How I Broke Free)

From A+ Pressure to B-Level Freedom

For most of my life, perfection wasn’t just something I aimed for — it was the standard. My early mentors were adamant about excellence, precision, and never missing a beat. I absorbed that without blinking.

Honestly, it was already in my blood. If something wasn’t an A+, it felt like failure.

And when I did make mistakes? I’d beat myself up for days. The shame...the heaviness...the feeling that I was somehow less-than because I wasn’t flawless. It was stifling.

Perfectionism made everything take longer than it needed to. I poured endless hours into projects that didn’t require that level of intensity, trying to sculpt them into something immaculate.

Anyone who owns a small business knows exactly what I’m about to say: That mindset is a deathtrap. Time is money. Momentum is everything. And perfectionism is the thief of both.

The Lesson I Didn’t Know I Needed

A bunch of years ago, I was mentoring inside one of Cate Stillman’s programs. Cate is a badass yogini, a powerhouse entrepreneur, and a woman who has trained throngs of people in the wellness world to be effective, successful, and aligned.

I remember sitting in one of her online seminars — absolutely riveted by her flood of grassroots, logical, deeply sensible business advice.

And then came the line that cracked me open:

“A "B" is good enough. You don’t need an A+. You don’t even need an A. Just keep things moving.”

I swear I had never heard anything like that before. It felt like someone had cracked a window in a room I didn’t know I was suffocating in.

A "B" is good enough??!! Permission to be human? Permission to be in process? Permission to be growing — not polished? WOW.

I ran with it. And I have never stopped.

What Happened When I Chose “Good Enough” Over Perfect

Now, years later, I can see the ripple effect of that permission.

For example: This is my fifth year coming into The Nest Collaborative. In our first year, we had five collaborators. This year, we have fourteen. That would never have happened if I were still clinging to my old A+ mentality.

Perfectionism would have slowed decisions, clogged momentum, stalled new ideas, and kept everything small, safe, and stagnant.

Letting myself move forward with good-enough work created FLOW. It created space for real growth. It created room for others to step in, rise up, and shine.

Do I still make mistakes? Oh yes. My fellow collaborators will vouch for that.

Do I still beat myself up? No. Not anymore. (well, maybe sometimes)

But every time something slips through the cracks, or something needs revising, or I wish I had done something differently, I think of Cate and smile. Because without that simple reframe- without the B Method- I would not be here, doing what I’m doing.

And...a lot fewer wellness professionals would have opportunities to build their businesses. And a lot fewer people would have a place to practice yoga, heal and grow with the variety of evolutionary offerings we have at the Nest Collaborative.

So, cheers to a few typos… and to every brave creator choosing progress over perfection. This is how we grow businesses, communities, and human beings — by moving forward, imperfectly and wholeheartedly.

Stay tuned for 2026!