Cult Of Perfection : Making Peace With Your Inner Overachiever

CONTENTS

Introduction

Part 1 Women Of O”

Chapter One: What Is An Overachiever?

Part 2: So What If I’m An Overachiever?

Chapter Two: Your Relationships At Home

Chapter Three: Your Relationships With Your Friends

Chapter Four: Your Health

Chapter Five: Your State Of Mind

Chapter Six: Your Long-Term Goals

Part 3: What Turns Someone Into An Overachiever?

Chapter Seven: Personality

Chapter Eight: Upbringing

Chapter Nine: A Bad Self Image

Chapter Ten: Life Events

Chapter Eleven: Necessity

Conclusion

About The Author

COOPER LAWRENCE is an expert on celebrity culture and fame. With an M.A. in developmental psychology, years of research, and a doctorate near completion she is the fame expert on the new VH1 'Celebreality' TV show Confessions of a Teen Idol slated for 2009.  Cooper hosts the nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Cooper Lawrence Show from Dial Global Cooper is a favorite guest of CNN Headline News's Showbiz Tonight, Fox News Channel, and The Tyra Banks Show as well as other shows including, The Today Show, The Early Show, CNN, The O'Reilly Factor, Your World with Neil Cavuto, Hannity & Colmes, Fox & Friends, The Insider, and on E! Entertainment Television. She has been featured in print for the New York Post, New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, IN STYLE, SELF, Parenting, Cosmopolitan, Family Circle, OK! Magazine, US Weekly, Life & Style, Star Magazine, In Touch Weekly, The Huffington Post and CosmoGIRL!

One of the challenges of being an overachiever and trying to maintain healthy friendships is that we judge ourselves at an impossibly high level, and we tend to judge our friends at that same level. If they don’t measure up, we are disappointed; we expected more from them. If you’re driven to perfect your life, that’s cool, but just be aware that it may be driving your friends bananas. Perhaps they’re so easygoing they don’t mind that you have expectations even St Frances Xavier Cabrini would fail to live up to. But that doesn’t quell your anxiety in fact, it makes you wonder if it’s time for new friends who aren’t so laid-back. It’s not, because this is your issue, and it’s time you asked yourself whether anybody can live up to your expectations. You need to step back and judge clearly whether your friends have truly failed you or, like the rest of us, are simply flawed human beings (albeit ones who would give you the last piece of chocolate cake regardless of how PMS they are feeling that day).

One in six women is an overachiever, constantly striving to get more done and do everything better and faster, while looking fabulous at all timesso if you are looking around the room at your five closest friends thinking they’re all slackers, it’s you!

Twenty-four hours are simply not enough for all you do in a day. Your calendar is booked solid for the next six months. You set a higher standard for yourself than for everyone else, and you are never fully satisfied with your life, because you can see how much more you can achieve. You are an overacheiver, and that can be a
good thing.

The Cult of Perfection offers practical advice on how to monitor and ease your stress, prioritize your time, build lasting self-esteem, and always feel in control. The goal: To be at peace with your inner overachiever. Psychology and relationship expert (and self-professed overachiever) Cooper Lawrence reveals the positive aspects of an overachieving lifestyle, and how to make it work for you so that you don’t lose touch with family and friends . . . and your own sanity.
This book explores how personality, upbringing, and life events lead to overachieving, and how this drive has an impact on your home and family life, friendships, health, state of mindand even your future.

Full of candid personal stories from fellow overachievers, The Cult of Perfection confirms that you are not alone in your quest for the best. Informative quizzes, tips, and to do” lists all provide empowering tools for effectively managing your busy lifestyle.

So set aside some time in your schedule, step off the treadmill, and learn how to delegate, balance your needs, set prioritiesand discover that you’re so much more than your achievements.

Quiz: Are You an Overachiever?

 

Is your life ruled by a to do” list of goals?
When you get an idea, do you act upon it immediately, not resting until you have

   achieved a result?
Do you always complete your work before the deadline?
Do you often feel overwhelmed?
Are you restless even on vacation?

If you answered yes” to the above questions, chances are you are an
overachiever. But don’t worryit’s not a dirty word. Join psychology expert and media personality (and self-professed overachiever) Cooper Lawrence as she details the upside of this way of life (whatever you set your mind to, you achieve) and the downside (the stress, anxiety, and self-doubt you sometimes experience).  Most important, she provides the tools you need to make peace with your inner overachiever. Packed with practical exercises and real-life stories of overachieving women past and present, The Cult of Perfection helps you harness your incredible energy, focus, and determination, to bring joy and success to your life.

Publisher: skirt!
Distributor: The Globe Pequot Press
Publication Date: 01-01-2008
Pages: 256
Measurements: 9.00in X 6.00in