striving to be perfect...

My step-mom thinks I'm too much of a perfectionist.  Which she's true. But I know I need to work on it!  I hate being a young professional because I make mistakes- and I'm not used to that!  I've always been good at things and never do anything wrong. Now it's impossible to be a perfect teacher ever- let alone your first few years. But I still beat myself up over my mistakes!  I need to work on that. It's normal to not be perfect!  :)

This is from a talk from Elder Cecil O. Samuelson (2002, MTC and printed in the New Era- read it here)

Doing Your Best	Perfectionism
You desire to give things your best efforts and are satisfied when you do.	You have a list of “shoulds” and “have to’s” and are dissatisfied even if you complete them.
You know it’s okay if you make a mistake. You move on and see your mistake as an opportunity for growth or learning.	Mistakes bring feelings of self-hatred. You don’t want to do anything because you are afraid of failure.
You want to do your personal best, and you try not to compare your achievements to those of others. You don’t need to be the best at all things.	You feel tremendous pressure to earn others’ approval. You must be the best or “perfect” in your tasks.
You can find joy in doing the things you love, and you can get things accomplished.	Your need to do things perfectly leads to procrastination until you have time to do it “perfectly,” and you feel driven by fear or duty instead of love.
Trying to do your best and perfecting yourself “line upon line” with the Savior’s help is Christ-centered because you need the Atonement.	Perfectionism is self-centered. You measure yourself against your own standards and against others’ standards, not God’s.