For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a massive perfectionist. This mostly backfires in schoolwork but lately perfectionism has been getting a better hold of me in other aspects of life, as well.

I’ve never had many hobbies due to my perfectionism, and it’s slowly getting worse. I have always been nearly unable to start new hobbies, unless I feel like I am immediately succeeding in what I do. I’ve tried drawing, playing volleyball, playing the ukulele, playing video games, collecting comics, caring for plants and probably so much more I can’t even remember. However, nowadays I feel like I don’t “deserve” a certain hobby, unless I am good at it – sounds quite sick, I know. I’ve also come to the realisation that I don’t enjoy doing things I’m not immediately good at, or if, god forbid, I happen to make a few mistakes. When making those mistakes – that everyone probably makes – I get completely discouraged to continue the hobby/interest. This makes it nearly impossible to start any new hobbies or better my skills at already existing interests.

How do you defeat these kinds of thoughts and thought patterns?