Click here to listen to the full episode of The Sports Project

Do you hate when people tell you “no one is perfect” and “mistakes are ok”?

I do. It drives me nuts.

Because I still want things to be perfect. I’m not out here competing to do it half-@$$ed. And mistakes are NOT ok. They cost us points, hurt the team, and are embarrassing.

And the fact is a perfectionist generally gets better results … up to a point.

The drive for perfection provides energy, attention to detail, and a work ethic that improves performance. But taken too far it also contributes to anxiety, depression, performance mistakes, and burnout.

Here is the one thing you can do to stay on the beneficial side of perfectionism and become what I call “the perfect perfectionist.”

** Stop hating your mistakes and use them as the learning opportunity they are. **

You don’t have to like mistakes. You don’t have to believe they are “ok” and “not worry” about them. Maintain the attitude that you don’t want to make them and focus on what you need to do to perform your best.

But when mistakes do happen, take advantage of the opportunity to find out what you did wrong and fix it so it doesn’t happen again.

Own your mistake, learn from it, and in that moment get closer to being perfect. Then repeat that with a new mistake, and get even better again.

Listen to the interview and discover how to best relate to your mistakes to get as close to perfect as possible. You’ll also hear how former NFL kicker Morten Andersen changed his relationship with mistakes on the way to the Hall of Fame.

Click here for more information on mental toughness from Dr. Eddie O’Connor.