My name is Kitty and I am a perfectionist!!

I've been to many therapists to deal with this issue which causes me undue stress several times over the years, but it always seems to creep back into my life.

This is a great book and will be replacing my therapists going forward (much more affordable)!! There are 30 very helpful and thought-out exercises that will help you control your perfectionistic tendencies.

Going forward, I feel like anytime that I feel myself slipping back into my old habits, I can start doing the exercise in this book again to get me back on track.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that tends to be a perfectionist and therefore you are very critical of everything you do!! It will help ease those demands we put on ourselves.

This book was very eye opening of the illusion that perfectionism promises. I view myself as a perfectionist on certain topics in life where I feel I am going to be judged/evaluated on my performance. I found the monthly plan to really make me think about how I approach my life and when going that but ‘extra’ isn’t always necessary and most definitely avoids unnecessary stress. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be happy with there work without constantly viewing it with a critics eye.

I loved the layout/ format of this book. The breakdown of the numbered sections was helpful. I also really enjoyed the use of the little comic inserts. Overall a useful and informative read!

Perfectionism is one of those ‘joke’ answers when asked in an interview about your biggest weakness. Oh, I’m such a perfectionist – like it’s a good thing. But it’s really not much of a joke: it can be a debilitatingly stressful way to live, and often stops people from living up to their potential. At the end of the day, we’re all human and all make mistakes – and that’s fine. There’s a calmer, more streamlined way to live, and that needs a loosening of any of those perfectionist tendencies. Easier said than done, but here’s a friendly guide to help :)

This book is a lovely light-handed take on the psychology of it all, based around the idea of the ‘monkey mind’: that bit of ourselves that lurks under the thinking, logical brain. When it decides to feel threatened, the ‘woo woo’ alarm it makes can alter our behaviour, usually for the worst. Ultimately, it all boils down to anxiety that we’re going to be ejected from ‘the tribe’ for failures – as illogical as those thoughts can seem. The good news is that you can train yourself to behave differently.

We start, after an introduction on the topic, with a link to an online test to take before and after, if you want to gauge your progress, as well as QR codes to additional resources. Then, over 30 chapters (so one a day for a month), there’s a short exploration of a perfectionist behaviour, how it ties back to that ‘monkey mind’ (ie, what’s really going on in that brain!), before an exercise to challenge yourself with, to break the behaviour.

Chapters cover things like accepting criticism, dealing with ‘no’s (by deliberately asking for things you know aren’t going to happen), letting go of tasks before they are ‘finished’ to your usual standard, and being willing to make mistakes and not only risk but actively pursue failure (by doing something you are bad at, or totally new to). While a few tasks share a core underlying behaviour, the 30 generally feel quite different.

I do think the month timeframe is over ambitious (the irony!), although that might just be me. Some of the exercises felt incredibly challenging, and I couldn’t go from one straight to the next – my nerves just wouldn’t take it! However, it’s these ones that do feel so hard to do that are probably touching the real problem areas, and the ones that felt ‘no problem!’ are things I most likely tackled without help over the last several decades. I do wonder what it says about me, though, that I just scoffed at the idea of not spellchecking… eep! ;)

Overall, I think this is a really well thought out book. Making changes to your fundamental behaviours and ways of thinking is a *huge* thing, and tackling that from a book isn’t easy. But I think the approach is spot on: mini-challenges, with enough explanation of what you’re attempting to change, plus a nice dose of humour, both from the ‘monkey’ and regular cartoon strips of example scenarios.

I will now go and give myself a pat on the back for not rewriting too much of this review – it’s not perfect, but that’s okay! :)

This is an excellent summary of the psychological basis for perfectionism, written by a professional in this subject.
A series of 30 exercises and experiments create an in-depth psychological workout designed to break through our barriers and control perfectionist behaviours in our daily lives.

This is a great book for those who want to do the work of grappling with perfectionism. The exercises were well though out and explained. Those who are already familiar with perfectionism, both the definition and tactics to manage it, are less likely to learn anything new from it.

The world can be dark and we could all use a little more self compassion. This was so impactful for me and I’ll be recommending it to all of my friends. I’m 29 and I’m feeling the pressures of being a big time adult, starting a family, being a good daughter, employee, wife and so on. This book really helped me realize ways I’m sabotaging my own success and happiness. I’m thankful for reading this!

Shannon’s guide for overcoming perfectionism is the greatest resource on this topic I’ve ever had the privilege to read. She expertly weaves exercises and explanations as to underlying goals and motivations. Unlike other self-help books that might simply share science and leave the reader to connect the dots, Shannon humbly sets the table with case studies, serves the meal with a tease of all the beauty and wonder that can be gained by letting one’s self justly indulge and she does so with profound dignity.

I cannot recommend this book enough for its ability to clarify subconscious activities that otherwise rules the perfectionist’s life. Even though I don’t personally hold to a macroevolution worldview, I can appreciate how the limbic system can become hypersensitive due to past trauma or childhood conditioning and thus misread threats. A great read!

One of three workbooks to accompany the cognitive therapeutical book Don't Feed the Monkey Mind, this workbook focuses on overcoming the drive to Perfectionism, one of the threefold cognitive patterns of the limbic brain ("Monkey Mind") which feed into anxiety and discomfort. The author sets out a thirty-day plan of exercises designed to release the expectation of Perfectionism and replace it with a wider approach to embracing one's values.