Perfectionism is a ubiquitous affliction, suffered by nearly a third of the population. Women in the workplace can be especially prone to perfection, holding themselves to higher standards for fear they will be judged more harshly. This quest for impossible perfection can, however, have serious consequences, including depression, anxiety, and workaholism.

If you believe that perfectionism is affecting your performance at work and happiness in life in general, then this infographic from CashNetUSA has some very useful tips to get the impulse under control.

Here are just a few to consider:

1. Make deliberate mistakes

The fear of making mistakes can lead to us putting unbearable pressure on ourselves, with each error a source of great disappointment and even anger. But EVERYONE makes mistakes, so there’s really no need to beat yourself up so much. To get more comfortable with the absolute fact that you are not perfect, try making public errors on purpose. Put a typo in a group email, mispronounce ‘avocado’ or simply ask someone to explain something rather than making a mental note to Google it later to avoid seeming ignorant.

[RELATED: How to Stop Being a Perfectionist]

2. Remind yourself of reality

Striving towards goals and objectives is great but not when we set unrealistic terms or timeframes to achieve them. If you find yourself being hypercritical about not achieving as much as you want it can be good to keep realistic positive affirmations around, to remind you to be reasonable with yourself. Examples would be:

• No one is universally liked. I don’t have to be either.

• It’s impossible to be good at everything, it’s okay to be okay at something.

• Mistakes happen, it’s how we learn to get better.

3. Look at the positives

If you feel a project or event has been an absolute disaster, take some time to figure out if that really was the case. Visualize or list the positives from it and weigh them up with the negatives. A heavy focus on what’s gone wrong means we often forget everything that goes right.

For even more tips check out the infographic itself. Perfectionism can be a debilitating affliction but by incorporating the right strategies into your daily life you can ease self-inflicted stress and be fairer to yourself.

How to Stop Perfectionism From Controlling Your Life