“Healthy striving is self-focused: "How can I improve?" Perfectionism is other-focused: "What will they think?”

“Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing.”

“Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow. Awareness of others is a healthy antidote to this self-focus.”

“Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it's often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis.”

“Focus can become an obsession... But your ability to sustain the drive to focus will depend upon how enjoyable and productive it is. So create an environment that makes you want to remain focused.”

“We can always choose to perceive things differently. We can focus on what's wrong in our life, or we can focus on what's right.”