Shauna Niequist: On Faith and Perfectionism

OPRAH:  So what you realized is, is that you were in this constant push for perfection. And as you started to peel back the layers, what did you find underneath that struggle?  

SHAUNA:  I think I thought that work and hustling and being known as responsible would prove my worth.  I think I was looking for a deep sense of value. Do I matter?  Am I enough?  Am I good enough?  Am I smart enough?  Am I working hard enough? And I was using work and busy-ness to kind of earn those things. 

OPRAH:  And when you realized that that’s what you were doing, what was your next step? 

SHAUNA:  At that point, then it became a spiritual question.  Right?  Because as a Christian, theologically, I believe in unconditional love.  I believe in my value.  And the value of every human being.  I believe that we’re deeply loved and created on purpose.  Every single one of us.  That we don’t have to earn or push or prove.  And I knew that in my brain.  I had known that all my life in my brain.  But it did not bear out in the way that I lived.  And so that was the next thing I had to shore up.