Rehabitus: Personal Growth in Life After Addiction.
What to expect in this week’s newsletter:
Testing new frameworks
Recognising burnout and embracing imperfection
Psychology Snippet: Carl Jung’s ‘Authentic Self’
An Imperfect Growth Mindset
Parkinson’s Law meets The Pomodoro Technique
I’m testing some new frameworks:
Saying more with less; reducing overexplaining and walls of text.
Spending more time learning, entertaining new ideas, and then writing about them if I feel they can work. This way, everyone is enriched.
Alleviating myself from an unhelpful choice: trying to meet unattainable standards.
Recognising Burnout and Embracing Imperfection
Last week, I recognised the signs of burnout and decided to go easier on myself. I transitioned back into the student mindset with the help of the Substack app.
Read last week’s post here:
By becoming more of a reader on Substack and taking more time to enjoy others’ content, I came to some key realisations through various writers’ perspectives.
Perfection is a Deception
A healthy level of standards is great. Striving to be your best self is commendable. However, maladaptive perfectionism is different.
Maladaptive perfectionism is about never being content with your efforts. It’s striving for flawlessness, which is unattainable, out of fear of negative consequences. This is possibly rooted in hypercritical parenting during childhood, societal pressures, personal insecurities or other factors.
Perfectionism is like a mirage in the desert. It promises satisfaction just ahead, but it’s always out of reach.
Recognise the illusion. Let it go.
Carl Jung and The Authentic Self
Carl Jung emphasised the importance of embracing one’s authentic self. He believed that true growth comes from integrating both our conscious and unconscious selves, including our imperfections.
Jung stated, "The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." This journey involves acknowledging and accepting our flaws as essential parts of our identity, rather than striving for an unattainable ideal of perfection.
Jung also introduced the concept of the "shadow self," which represents the parts of ourselves we might try to hide or deny. Integrating the shadow self means recognising these aspects as integral to our whole being. By confronting and embracing our shadow, we become more complete and authentic individuals.
An Imperfect Growth Mindset
Acknowledge and accept that flaws are part of the process.
Aim for progress, not perfection.
View mistakes as learning opportunities.
Celebrate progress, no matter how small.
Talk to yourself as if you were someone you cared about when things don’t go as planned.
Remember we don’t just talk to ourselves - we spend half the time listening to what that voice says.
Here’s a simple idea to help with focusing on getting things done efficiently.
Parkinson's Law Meets the Pomodoro Technique
Parkinson’s Law states that "work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion." To combat perfectionism and increase productivity, we can set small deadlines for tasks.
The Pomodoro Technique (Pomodoro is Italian for tomato, and refers to a tomato kitchen timer) is a low-tech method to greatly improve focused work.
It may also be beneficial to people with ADHD; helping manage associated symptoms such as time blindness and hyperfocus.
The Pomodoro Technique
Set a timer for 25 minutes (it doesn’t have to be a tomato timer).
Work on a single task for an uninterrupted 25-minute session (a "Pomodoro").
After the Pomodoro, take a short break (5 minutes) to reset.
Repeat 4 Pomodoros until a 30-minute break, and restart.
(Perhaps review and adjust your timescales to suit you, e.g. 20 minutes of work and 5 minutes break.)
How it Works
Allocating specific time blocks helps maintain focus and avoid distractions. Pomodoros keep sessions short, manageable and good enough.
Shorter deadlines create urgency, forcing efficient work and reducing procrastination or marginal adjustments that don’t add value.
Small time increments are less overwhelming.
A clear scope definition keeps you on track, avoiding unnecessary layers of detail.
Regular breaks with the Pomodoro Technique prevent burnout and maintain productivity by allowing your brain to rest.
By applying Parkinson's Law and the Pomodoro Technique, you can reduce the time spent over-refining work and achieve a better balance between quality and efficiency.
6 Tips to Manage Perfectionism
Limit the time you spend on each task to avoid over-refinement.
Focus on completing one part at a time to reduce pressure.
Collaborate: seek feedback early to guide your efforts constructively and avoid tunnel vision.
Remind yourself that done is better than perfect.
Remember, you could be making the outcome worse by adding excessive layers of ‘improvements’.
(…I hope you got the joke.)
And Finally
Some Reflective Questions:
What is one area in your life where making errors is beneficial?
Have you ever messed up a recipe, only to find out you’ve made your own twist on a meal?
When was the last time a mistake led to an unexpected positive outcome?
What is one personal flaw you have come to appreciate about yourself? Why?
What recent task did you complete more efficiently by letting go of your high expectations?
Feel free to share your answers and help inspire others.
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I wish there was a different word in English for ‘mistake’. When I was a kid, whenever I made a mistake/did something ‘wrong’ I was yelled at or shamed. Now I realise that so-called ‘mistakes’ are essential for learning anything and getting good at anything! My sobriety journey enabled me to really put this into practice -when I drank, instead of beating myself, I looked at it as (as Annie Grace calls it) a ‘data point’ - seeing what I could learn from it, what was illuminated by the ‘mistake’. Giving myself that grace and compassion was what enabled me to get sober - took me 20 months so I def didn’t get it ‘right’ first time! 😊
Points for Carl Jung,
Decent advice - My tactic is to have learning blocks / working blocks 1-4h - every hour I get up to do 1 set of given day exercise, drink water, stretch a bit an go back - In my case break is around 2-3 mins every hour.
It helps me get trough task faster.
Daily walks in nature w/o noise or music - listening to surroundings or if I'm being honest with You thoughts inside and ordering them in right patterns.
Good stuff Adam