Is the Cure for Perfectionism Authenticity?

Perfectionism, Penelope Trunk recently wrote on BNET, is a disease, not a badge of honor. Her cure involved focusing on your real goals, acting more likable and allowing yourself to be wrong. Solid advice, but what if you're the type of all-out control freak who needs stiffer medicine? What if you're the kind of person for whom allowing yourself to fail in front of others seems as possible as sprouting wings and flying?

What you need is advice from a recovering fellow sufferer, and a recent TED talk by author Brené Brown offers just that. The sweet and self-effacing 20-minute talk tells the tale of Brown's knock-down drag-out fight with perfectionism and fear of vulnerability, digging into the root causes of her obsessive orderliness and need for control, and finally offering an antidote to the disease -- authenticity -- as well as a thought-provoking commentary on the high levels of over-medication, addiction, indebtedness and obesity in modern society. Check it out below. (Hat tip to Presentation Zen for the pointer.)

Read More on BNET:

• Is Perfectionism Killing Your Business Plans?
• 5 Ways to Beat Perfectionism
• How to Conquer Your Fear and Self-Doubt... Really