Flawed by Perfectionism ft. Dr Thomas Curran, Professor of Psychology

Demoted

Demoted Productions

Comedy, Business, Careers

4.8 • 778 Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Perfectionism: the socially acceptable way to ruin your own life. This week, we’re joined by Dr. Thomas Curran, professor of psychology and author of The Perfection Trap, to explain why perfectionism isn’t a flex—it’s a full-time mental drain. We dig into the difference between high standards and high stress, how perfectionism feeds imposter syndrome, and why social media keeps making it worse. We also break down how to work with perfectionists (or at least survive them), and how to reframe failure before you burn out trying to “fix” something no one even noticed. We want to hear from you! Send in your Corporate Confessions, Dear Demoted questions, and Shout-outs right here: ⁠https://forms.gle/nJc667dUL65Xh63C6⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0	Are you a perfectionist at your job?
0:01.9	Do you feel like being a perfectionist ever holds you back?
0:04.7	Is your perfectionism causing you anxiety and burnout?
0:07.9	Aren't successful people all perfectionists in some way?
0:10.8	We're bringing on Dr. Thomas Curran to answer all of these questions related to perfectionism.
0:15.0	We're two perfectionists ourselves, so naturally we had to bring in an expert.
0:18.1	You're going to love this episode.
0:29.0	What's up, Motorheads?
0:31.6	Welcome to another edition of Demoted.
0:34.0	It's Tuesday, because that's when we release episodes.
0:36.0	Hope everyone had a happy Monday.
0:38.8	Now, what are we doing today? We're bringing on Dr. Thomas Curran. He's a speaker and associate professor of psychology at the London School
0:44.6	of Economics, so he is way smarter than both Ross and I, thank God. Yes, that's not that
0:50.5	that's saying much, but he has garnered worldwide acclaim for his research into the rising tide of perfectionism and its implications on well-being and productivity.
0:59.9	Ross and I talk a lot about burnout and this desire to achieve and do great things in your career
1:05.8	and in your personal life and always really be perfect. And I think this episode we dive into,
1:10.4	maybe that's not the best approach to your job.
1:13.5	And no doubt in my mind, a lot of motorheads out there are also perfectionists.
1:17.4	And naturally, that sort of competitive, high expectations of oneself can lead to, well, dare I say,
1:24.7	unhappiness and our favorite buzzword on the pod, burnout.
1:27.5	He argues for a cultural and personal shift towards embracing imperfection and showing that good
1:32.8	enough can lead to more meaningful and balanced lives.
	...

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