When I first read this story I was skeptical.
But when I focused on a singular point: social media, it makes sense.
As a sports fan the common theme you’ll hear is professional athletes today deal with more pressure than previous generations which directly relates to social media.
Selfies and personal branding has lead to idealized personas. What is posted is not reality.
Like any competition it’s tough to keep up.
Setting unrealistic expectations and goals sets you up to fail. Demanding to perform at a peak level constantly has it’s downfalls. Burnout, depression and self-doubt are just some of the side effects.
The building of “me” is a dangerous road. Society promotes it, but in the end all roads lead to hell.
This may explain the lessened attempts at risk. If you’re taught that you can do anything you want (false advice), how will you handle it when things don’t turn out as planned?
Perfectionism has personal and professional implications: mainly around mistakes.
But if you make the mental shift “I can live with failure; I just can’t live with regret” everything changes.
Life isn’t about being perfect. Ask any successful athlete or entrepreneur how they succeeded and failure is a huge part of the recipe.
Making mistakes is part of life because trial and error is the best teacher.
Imperfection is what makes us all human.
Only you can release the self-imposed pressure to be someone you’re not.
Be you. That’s not a mistake.
Growing Forward 