This article was originally posted on Harvard Business Review and is excerpted below. See the full article here.

A few years ago, I was in a therapy session, talking about how anxious I felt about bombing an important presentation at work. My therapist turned to me and said, “Why do you have to be so special at everything? Whoever told you that?” I looked at her and said, “I’ve always been special, since I was three years old.” To which my therapist replied, “Well, who says?”

It’s a question I’ve pondered many times since, and one I ask myself when my inner critic takes charge. I’m an anxious achiever, ambitious and career focused. My anxiety prompts me to overperform. I can never rest until I’ve reached the next goal and done it to perfection. Thoughts of failure have driven me to accomplish many things, but the anxiety driving those fears takes a toll on my mental health, my relationships, and my ability to experience joy.

Who said I have to be so special? Who said I have to be great all the time? If you also struggle with perfectionism, driven by anxiety, this question can be profound.

Many anxious achievers push themselves to the point of overwork in an effort to achieve impossible standards. We often act this way out of habit. Somewhere along the way — through messages we received in our childhoods, our adolescence, or even in our educations and early careers — we internalized the message that if we make mistakes, we’re not worthy. Now, our internal voices threaten, shame, and harshly critique us in life and at work. Anxiety has become the driver that powers us through.

Read the full article on the Harvard Business Review website.