The Perfectionist is a part of the Prostitute archetype that—aside from my mind— resides in my solar plexus, where it weakens my core muscle strength and as a result produces discomfort or pain in my lower back. Of course, my go-to has always been to maintain core and lower back strength through yoga and weight training.

But. 

Recently, I found that tackling this at a physical level is with some irony, not enough for my Inner Perfectionist. This part of me indicated that it needed to heal, by dropping its burdens, one of which was overtraining and besides, research shows that it all starts in the mind¹. 

The Inner Perfectionist is the archetypal force that drives high standards, discipline, and excellence. The benefits of which lead to outstanding results, attention to detail, and continuous self-improvement. And continuous self-improvement is an expectation that borders on unhealthy. The downside of letting the Inner Perfectionist drive my life was having to constantly ward off procrastination because the fear of failure, excessive self-criticism, or difficulty in delegating tasks became insurmountable obstacles. As a consequence, the Inner Perfectionist generated not only burnout and anxiety, but an inability to acknowledge my achievements, and God forbid, celebrate them. The Inner Perfectionist has always wanted 100 percent out of me. And I discovered that it’s the perfect companion for my Inner Taskmaster. 

The Inner Taskmaster is a facet of the Saboteur archetype. Another archetype (which, by the way is in addition to the Prostitute) that we all have in common. Until recently, my Inner Taskmaster has been a relentless, demanding force. Turns out that my Inner Taskmaster needed to let go of its burdens (one being overtraining) because it could no longer carry the burdens without the help of my Inner Perfectionist! 

My Inner Taskmaster was always pushing to schedule, organise and control every detail, insisting that everything must be fixed, sometimes even when things didn’t need fixing. Which usually ended in disappointment or disaster or injury. Overbearing and exhausting, my Inner Taskmaster would add pressure to decision-making and push to be constantly productive and achieve more. Under the Inner Taskmaster’s rule, it refused to allow rest or space to breathe; convinced that if I were not constantly doing, then I have or will fail. All of which created an endless cycle of burnout and self-criticism.

What have I learnt?

Collaborating with the Prostitute archetype’s Inner Perfectionist and the Saboteur archetype’s Inner Taskmaster has shown me that striving for perfection serves to cover up perceived flaws. While the Inner Perfectionist’s commitment to excellence might inspire others, I’ve realised that when I have the clarity of mind to embody compassion, while there in the energy of my Self, which is sacred, I can lead both the Inner Perfectionist and Inner Taskmaster towards balancing excessively high standards and expectations with loving kindness. This helps to avoid stagnation and exhaustion and minimises unhealthy stress.

I won’t lie; it’s a process. I’ve learnt to feel 60 to 70 percent happy² about each domain of my life rather than letting my Inner Taskmaster join forces with my Inner Perfectionist to obstruct long-term healthy progress. Together they had insisted on nothing less than a minimum of 98 percent before they were satisfied. 

1. Feldman Barrett, L 2018, How emotions are made: the secret life of the brain, Pan Books, London. ↩︎
2. Thanks to Oliver Burkeman’s recent newsletter ↩︎