The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough -- Thomas Curran, Hardcover

In the bestselling tradition of Brené Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection, this illuminating book by an acclaimed professor at the London School of Economics explores how the pursuit of perfection can become a dangerous obsession that leads to burnout and depression--keeping us from achieving our goals.

Today, burnout and depression are at record levels, driven by a combination of intense workplace competition, oppressively ubiquitous social media encouraging comparisons with others, the quest for elite credentials, and helicopter parenting. Society continually broadcasts the need to want more, and to be perfect.

Gathering a wide range of contemporary evidence, Curran calls for both introspection and broader, societal change. He shows what we can do as individuals to resist the modern-day pressure to be perfect, and in so doing, win for ourselves a more purposeful and contented life.

The Perfection Trap is for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by the soul-crushing need to not just compete but compete to a level beyond reason. In place of an ever-moving treadmill, it offers the relief of letting go to focus on what matters most.

Author: Thomas Curran
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Published: 08/08/2023
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781982149536

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 05/01/2023
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2023

About the Author
Thomas Curran grew up in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, before studying at De Montfort University and the University of Leeds, UK, where he received his PhD in psychology. He taught at several universities in Australia and the UK before joining the Department of Psychological and Behavioral Science at the London School of Economics as a professor in 2019. He studies the personality characteristic of perfectionism, how it develops, and how it impacts mental health. His TED talk on perfectionism has received more than three million views. His research has been featured in media ranging from the Harvard Business Review to New Scientist to CNN and he has appeared on numerous television and radio programs. He is the author of The Perfection Trap.