Do you struggle with perfectionism? Do you prevent yourself from trying new things because you’re afraid of failing? Is failure something that’s hard for you to accept? Do you feel that you have to be the best at everything you attempt? If you answered yes to any of those questions, I highly recommend you read The ACT Workbook for Perfectionism by Jennifer Kemp.
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Jennifer Kemp is a clinical psychologist who details her own struggles with perfectionism. Kemp found herself purposely avoiding things she knew she wasn’t good at because the criticisms would haunt her for days. She found herself dealing with anxiety, which would often leave her breathless, shaking, and in tears. Kemp’s journey was a long one, but she put forth the effort to understand and gather the necessary tools to finally break free from perfectionism.
This book is a roadmap towards positive change. Kemp encourages readers to work from beginning to end because each chapter builds on the last. This workbook allows the reader to take notes, underline, and highlight key points that they find helpful. Kemp includes questions, scenarios, and more to help you better understand your behaviours. The journey to breaking this habit of perfectionism will be uncomfortable, which is why Kemp emphasizes the importance of being patient with yourself.
There’s a lot of powerful quotes in this book, but one that stood out to me was “By refusing to fall, perfectionism steals our opportunity to practice falling and the chance to learn from it.” I truly enjoyed this self-help book because it was immersive and interactive. It’s one thing to read a book and take points that resonated with you, and it’s another to actually do the work. There were questions along with spaces below to fill in your answer, activities to try, and scales to rate your feelings and standards from 1-10. This book makes you reflect and dig deeper into understanding why you feel and react the way that you do.
Thank you to NetGalley and New Harbinger Publications Inc. for this advanced reading copy (eARC) in exchange for my honest review. This book will be released in December 2021 and is available for pre-order through New Harbinger Publications and Amazon. If you or someone you know struggles with perfectionism, it would make a thoughtful gift for the holidays or the new year. For more book reviews, click here.
The ACT Workbook for Perfectionism by Jennifer Kemp
Genre: Self-Help
Pages: 232
Rating: 5/5
Ooh! Im glad you enjoyed this book! Im the opposite of a perfectionist and sometimes lack checking details haha! Thanks for sharing this resource x
Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Haha I’m getting better with not checking every detail! Thanks for reading Lynn!
Ooo, this book by Jennifer Kemp sounds really good. I struggle with perfectionism, especially when it comes to work. I’ll often feel awful if it’s not absolutely *perfect* I really like the quote you shared from it, definitely have to check this out. Thanks for sharing.
That is now one of my favorite quotes. I’m glad it resonated with you too. Thanks for reading Jordanne!
This sounds so interesting. I am not a perfectionist, but I have found that as I age, being a perfectionist becomes less and less important.
I agree, I’ve also gotten better with time. Thank you for reading Wendy!
Perfectionism is something I deal with on a case-to-case basis (lol) which makes life interesting; for some tasks, I’m totally fine with getting them done as efficiently as possible and being happy with the results, and for others, I spend so much time trying to ‘perfect’ them that it often results in unnecessary overthinking.
I can relate to what you’re saying. Thank you for sharing Isabelle!
Great review of the book. I loved the fact that it included scenarios even more than the questions. With that it would definitely help those in need. Thanks for a great review. Xx
Isa A. Blogger
https://www.lifestyleprism.com/
Thank you for reading Isa!
Thank you for this post and workbook recommendations
Thanks for reading Michelle!
Great review! I’ve always struggled with perfectionism and this seems to be a great immersive book to help tackle that. Thank you so much for sharing, I’m definitely going to look into this x
Thank you for reading!
This sounds like a really interesting book. We both struggle with perfectionism.
I hope you both get a chance to read this! Thanks for stopping by!
Perfectionism is not something I deal with so I can’t speak from personal experience, but it does sound like something that needs to be addressed if it negatively impacts someone’s life or impedes progress/joy. This book sounds like it tackles many important things in a useful way — thanks for sharing.
Thank you for reading Molly!
This seems like a great self-help book for overcoming perfectionism. I would definitely consider myself a perfectionist, so perhaps reading this could help!
Thank you for reading!
I definitely struggle with perfectionism. I’ve been trying to embrace “done is better than perfect,” but it’s not easy. This book would be a good one for me to read. Thanks so much for sharing!
I like that quote, thank you for reading Tiffany!
Perfectionism is so hard, and it can be difficult to know where to start. These tips are so helpful, thank you!
Oh I would be lying if I say I don’t relate to being a perfectionist. I used to be such a perfectionist lol. I’m glad i’m starting to accept that not everything will be perfect. I would absolutely love to read this book. Thank you so much for sharing! xx
Thank you for reading Ruth!
I completely agree. Thank you for reading Eleanor!
Sounds like an awesome book!
Thank you for reading Saadon!
This book sounds really great, I’m terrible at wanting everything to be perfect and it’s something I need to overcome, I may check it out x
Thank you for reading Della!
Perfectionism is a threat we should not treat as a threat!
Thanks for your input Ashish!
Thank you for sharing 🙂