Modern Wisdom

E1025 - #1025 - Dr Paul Hewitt - Understanding the Psychology of Perfectionism

Published: November 27, 2025

Duration: 1:28:24

Dr Paul Hewitt is a physicist, educator, and author.

Why do so many of us struggle with perfectionism? For some, it started in childhood—but its impact as an adult can be exhausting. So how do you actually break the cycle and get comfortable with things being imperfect?

Expect to learn what they archetypal perfectionist is and how they became themselves, the bevaviour of a perfectionist and how to differentiate between productive and toxic perfectionism, if perfectionism is related to burnout, why having high standards might not be a great thing, how to get out of...