Hey Bruce,

My take on this…

Maybe the reason you’re so hard on yourself is ALL because of your perfectionism.

Perhaps you set such high standards for yourself that this texting experience has SEEMINGLY forever tarnished you as a person, in YOUR mind.

You mention ‘perfectionist’ as if that’s just who you are and always will be. Like there is no changing it.

I disagree with this. I would argue that you are a person, who up to this point in time, has had perfectionist tendencies and/or a perfectionist mindset.

The difference? My view of you is one where you can alter or calm down these perfectionist tendencies so that they aren’t so damaging to yourself.

Easy for me to say, right? I don’t claim to know the steps you should take. But I’m confident that this perfectionist label you’ve submitted to would be something worth looking at.

Everyone screws up, misses the mark, looks dumb/foolish, fails, falls, slips, trips, in some form or another. And there is good reason to not fear these things. Lessons can be learned and entertaining stories can be shared with your friends. I wouldn’t be surprised if they came back to you with a similar story. THIS very human part of you will never change. Though the perfectionist part can.