Expansive Mind-set: It is more important to do my personal best than to measure myself against others’ accomplishments.

Expansive Mind-set: Mistakes, judgments, and criticism are signs that I have taken a risk, and are opportunities for growth.

The perfectionist strives to be the best, thinking that when you are the best nobody can criticize you. But since there is always someone who is better, or threatening to become better, you’ll always have something to prove. So you compare yourself to others, hoping to find that you are as good or better.

This is why I like to think of negative feelings as necessary feelings.

This mind-set is often triggered when the perception of threat is centered on your status within your tribe. If the outcome of a situation could result in you being judged negatively by your family, friends, peers, or superiors, your monkey mind will sound the alarm.

Welcoming Breath and Ask for More, in conjunction with Thank the Monkey and Worry Time.

Eric was on a treadwheel. He believed he needed to prove himself every minute of the day. He judged any mistakes he made, and any judgment or criticism he received, to mean that he was not good enough or he had failed in some way. In Eric’s mind, his shortcomings made him less worthy as a human being, a candidate for rejection by those he loved and

Within the cycle of anxiety, the joy of being alive is lost.

The only way we can get what we want in life is to override its warnings with our behavior.