After obtaining degrees from Yale College and Yale Law School and landing prestigious legal jobs, she only became more anxious. "It was never just going to stop," said Confino, a career coach who helps her clients break their perfectionist streaks and an adjunct law professor at the Fordham University School of Law. "Then 150 hurdles later, you realize, 'Wait a second, maybe that's not going to happen unless I do something different,'" she added. Perfectionism has risen significantly over the past four decades, according to a 2018 American Psychological Association study. Here are two steps she recommends taking to fend off those perfectionist tendencies:

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Persons: Jordana Confino, Laurie Santos, Perfectionism, It's, Confino Organizations: Yale College, Yale Law School, Yale, Fordham University School of Law, American Psychological Association