The Perfection Detox

Tame Your Inner Critic, Live Bravely, and Unleash Your Joy

By: Petra Kolber

Narrated by: Petra Kolber

Award-winning fitness professional and consultant shares a practical, accessible program to help women replace destructive perfectionistic mindsets with concrete strategies and life-changing tips.

Tired. Stressed. Overwhelmed. Just one more email, one more meeting with the kid's teacher, oh and lose that last five pounds. Today, women are striving for perfection more than ever -- and feeling like failures for not meeting unattainable goals. Health and wellness expert Petra Kolber knows this intimately; as a dancer and fitness professional, she's experienced the ultimately dissatisfying quest for perfection. Her Perfection Detox program helps women to overcome the unhealthy, unproductive demands we place on ourselves -- and others. Based on her popular workshops, Kolber's strategies help women to recognize and constructively root out the perfectionistic impulse to be critical of self or others and to harness the power of our own internal resources, willpower, and habits.

With simple steps and strategies such as adjusting your internal monologue, cleaning up your vocabulary to include more positive language, becoming a passionist rather than a perfectionist, and more, The Perfection Detox is an essential guide to a healthy, full, authentic life.

Critic reviews

"Embarking on Petra Kolber's detox program, will leave you lighter, healthier, and happier. The prescriptions in the book add up to a near-perfect antidote to perfectionism."—Tal Ben-Shahar, lecturer and author of New York Times bestseller Happier

"The Perfection Detox is a breath of fresh air for anyone familiar with self-doubt or self-criticism. A compassionate and inspiring guide to recovery from perfectionism, Petra turns the best insights from positive psychology into practical strategies for living your best life, perfection not required."—Kelly McGonigal, author of The Willpower Instinct and The Upside of Stress

"The Perfection Detox will change the way you think about life and success. In a fast-moving, hard-charging world, it's easy to drive ourselves to despair with impossible metrics and a belief that we're never enough. Petra Kolber teaches us how to thrive in a new and better way."—Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You and adjunct professor, Duke University Fuqua School of Business

"From the moment I met Petra 25 years ago she has always had such a positive, infectious attitude. She helped me realize that perfection is a goal that ultimately holds you back from your full potential, rather than help you achieve it. Her program will empower you to discover the joy and freedom that is waiting for you on the other side of perfectionism."—Dara Torres, 5-Time Olympic swimmer, author of New York Times bestseller Gold Medal Fitness and Age is Just a Number

"Perfection is SO over rated! Thank YOU Petra Kolber for proving it with your trademark courage and strength. This book is a brilliant step by step guide to unleashing potential from someone who's truly done it and inspired so many of us in the process."—Sarah Robb O'Hagan, author of Extreme YOU and CEO Flywheel Sports

"Petra Kolber teaches us recovering people-pleasers beset by anxiety and impossible standards how to embrace our cracks and find out light. I can't think of a more joyful, authentic, perfectly imperfect person to be the messenger for this movement. It's time to transform our inner prisons into freedom and joy by celebrating the very flaws that make us who we are."

—Jenny Blake, author of Pivot: The Only Move That Matters is Your Next One

"This is the book that all women need to read. This is my kind of detox! Petra will help you lift the pressure, the façade and the unrealistic expectations that we put on ourselves. I am filled with hope that women may finally stop striving for perfection and start living their beautiful imperfect lives after reading this book."

—Lisa Druxman, author of The Empowered Mama and The Founder of FIT4MOM®

Better book to read

It was good, but without the opportunity to write down or mark up a book, it lost some of its value. Still a great listen with valuable information.

Need this on repeat!

Petra gives useful tips to stop living in perfectionism. Thank you for telling me everything I needed to hear!

Perfectionist in detox!

This book was incredibly helpful in detoxing from perfectionism. I learned so many amazing tools, tips, and strategies to shut down my inner critic and start enjoying my life in the moment. My perfectionism isn’t the asset I’d once thought and letting go won’t impact my success in the future. Really powerful insight. Thank you, Petra for your wisdom and sage advice.

This was emotionally painful

I got a lot out of this book and would have loved to have given it 5-stars across the board. (I have a feeling that might have made the author feel that her book was everything she wanted it to be...) However, the book mostly made me feel bad about myself. It made me feel that somehow I was at blame for falling short in my attitudes and likeableness. The 12 zillion people who she had to name in gratitude for their support left me feeling like I was undeserving... I will probably go back to this book to reconsider some of the exercises, but only in small doses when I have the energy to withstand the gospel of still not enough.

Love all the tools in this book!

I started it in audible and had to get the hard copy too! It’s so good and so many practical lessons, I had to order the hard copy to highlight the tools and write down my thoughts. I’m reading it a second time to go deeper. Thank you so much for putting this much value out to the world.