Before you sign up, here’s a small peek at what my emails feel like.
They’re a cozy mix of honesty, reflection, and a little humor — plus, since being a reader is basically my entire personality, there’s always a space for book recommendations (mine and yours).

Email: Maybe being a perfectionist isn’t the problem…

Hi, my name is Zenia, and I’m a perfectionist. ✋

And something you’ll never hear me call myself (or you) is a recovering perfectionist.

I see that phrase everywhere, and listen — I get the intention.

People think: “Perfectionism sucks, so let’s work on not being perfectionists.”

But as a perfectionist, do you know what I hear?

“Right… so I’m already doing everything wrong, but now I’m ALSO wrong for being a perfectionist.”

Love that for us. 😮‍💨

Perfectionists already live under a mountain of “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts,” so when we call ourselves recovering perfectionists…

it just adds another “shouldn’t.”

Another thing we’re “failing” at.

Another way to be wrong.

Like:

Great. Now I’m failing at not failing. Amazing.

And honestly?

I’m tired of all the things I “should” and “shouldn’t” be.

I’m a perfectionist, dammit. 😤😜

Here’s what I believe:

We don’t need to “recover” from who we are — we just need to learn how to work with the parts of us that want to do things well.

The goal isn’t to stop being a perfectionist.

The goal is to learn to manage it, so it doesn’t manage us.

Because yes, perfectionism can be… a lot.

It can paralyze us with fear.

It can make us play small.

It can turn us into our own worst critics — like having a resident mean girl trailing behind us, narrating every move we make.

It can push us past our limits straight into burnout.

So yeah. Perfectionism can absolutely be toxic.

But here’s the part people forget:

When we learn to manage it with kindness instead of fear, it becomes a superpower.

One that lets us stay ambitious, create beautiful things, and care deeply about the work we put into the world.

Because being a perfectionist isn’t the problem.

Forgetting that you get to decide who’s in charge… that’s the problem.

You or the perfectionism.

And I’m here to help you choose you.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk 🫡

Talk soon 💌,

Zenia