
The Perfection Trap
Embracing the Power of Good Enough
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Narrated by:
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Sid Sagar
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By:
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Thomas Curran
“Offers a hopeful beacon and a steady path for anyone struggling to find their footing in a world of impossible standards.” —Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drive and The Power of Regret
In the tradition of Brené Brown’s bestseller 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 offers “a clear-eyed look at how perfectionism and its capitalistic ‘obsession with boundless growth’ has contributed to mass discontent and insecurity” (Publishers Weekly). 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.
Filled with “many useful lessons and valuable insights…This book offers an alternative path to a fulfilling, productive life” (Kirkus Reviews) and the relief of letting go to focus on what matters most.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2023 Thomas Curran (P)2023 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















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Good intro on how perfectionism form but lack of good practices to fix it
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Enjoyable Listen
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great until he went political
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Even though I haven’t completed the book, I’m giving 5-stars across the board because it is so insightful. I hope someone else who’s struggles like me will see the review and give it a chance. Perhaps I’ll get up the nerve one day to admit to a therapist what’s going on, and this book will help me give him/her a head start on my treatment.
I would be farther along in my listening now, if I didn’t have to rewind it every few minutes to make sure I understood the point(s) being conveyed. That’s not the narrator’s or author’s fault. I’m typically tinkering when listening to audiobooks, so it’s easy to miss stuff.
The Answers I Didn’t Know I Needed
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I thought the author's synthesis of the research that addresses the underlying issues was spot on. I'd say he really knows perfectionism inside and out and his insights on the topic are worth your time. I took one star off for the proposed solutions at the end. Many of his bandaid-like suggestions are useful and fit well with his research. Furthermore, I agree that a socially systemic problem will take a systematic approach. However, his lack of evidence to stand on for his socioeconomic solution at the end makes his grandest proposal feel like a flight of fancy more than anything else in the book and that knocks this down to a four star book for me. He's a professor of psychology trying to completely rewrite a global socioeconomic system for us all. That section just doesn't feel as well within his expertise as the rest of the book.
Still though, it's a great book to read if you want to understand perfectionism.
Great insight of the problem, less of the solution
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Good overview of problem but poor solution
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Author mentions correlation versus causation but ignores his own advice.
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Politicized piece of junk
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Why was the last chapter in there? It was completely irrelevant and he’s obviously not an economist.
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