Goodbye, Perfect: How to Stop Pleasing, Proving, and Pushing for Others. and Live For Yourself

by Homaira Kabir MAPPCP

Overview

For fans of Brene Brown and lovers of inspiring self-help titles, Goodbye, Perfect is a must-read leadership and personal development book for women who have fallen into the toxic traps of perfectionism, approval seeking and endless doing.

It speaks to the challenges of millions of competent and conscious women who keep pushing themselves at the expense of their health and relationships, and of successful women who keep doubting themselves and feeling like an imposter despite everything.

Based on years of academic research, Homaira Kabir upends our understanding of confidence by identifying two types of HIGH confidence and provides a path to flourishing that addresses the needs, challenges, and aspirations of women in the 21st century.

In Goodbye, Perfect, she helps readers uncover their internal stories, unhook from the need for external validation, and connect to the heartbeat of their own why. With vivid, real-life stories from her personal and professional life, she gets to the heart of what it is to be human and offers practical strategies to replace feelings of being invisible, inadequate, or unsupported with compassion, connection, and the courage to go after the longings of our hearts with joy and ease. You'll stop trying so hard and trusting a lot more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728247496
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/11/2023
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	407,346
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Homaira (pronounced Ho-May-Ra) Kabir is a women’s wellbeing and leadership coach. Her postgraduate research on women’s flourishing highlights the importance of changing our relationship with ourselves in order to experience joy, success and fulfillment in life.

Her early experience with an eating disorder became the catalyst for her pursuit of inner love. Her work speaks to the longing in many of us to unhook from perfection, pleasing, pushing and proving, and befriend the mess and beauty of our inner and outer lives.

With a double Master’s degree in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, she blends science and soul to inspire what’s possible, while addressing some of the very real challenges of life through practical and evidence-based tools and strategies. Her writing is widely published in Forbes, Happify, ThriveGlobal, the Huffington Post, Positive Psychology News Daily and more. She has been called “inspirational”, “a beacon of hope”, and “a ray of sunshine in dark times”.

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2023

Psychotherapist and career coach Kabir explains how to flourish and lead a purpose-driven life in this title. She is particularly interested in developing women's leadership abilities in the workforce. Despite some efforts by corporations to include women, the author believes that few women are reaching their full potential. Using positive psychology to explain why women lack confidence, Kabir references the work of notable social psychologists that will inspire further study. She covers some well-known ground—women are trained to be caretakers while men are encouraged to chase their dreams—but also offers fresh insights surrounding the gender/pay gap. Kabir believes that too many women are dragged downward by self-criticism and the need for perfection; by comparing themselves to others and giving themselves impossible to-do lists, women face self-doubt and burnout. Advocating that women give themselves self-compassion, the author offers frameworks that can build joy, confidence, and purpose. Well-drawn charts elucidate abstruse concepts. VERDICT This book is aimed at women, particularly women of color, but anyone who feels sidelined in the workplace may benefit. Kabir offers specific strategies for achieving optimal confidence, purpose, and success.—Chantal Walvoord

Library Journal