[Note: This post originally appeared on theriveter.co as part of an installment series on the three pillars of Internalized Sexism (that is: how girls are trained into “underachieving”) prior to a public talk I gave on the topic]

Internalized Sexism, Pillar 1: Perfectionism

Here’s the big idea: There’s no such thing as perfectionism.

How can it be a unique character trait when almost every woman claims to have it?

Let’s assume instead, that perfectionism is a shared injury, a symptom of growing up in a society where women are never “the right fit,” never “look right for the part” or are just “not ready for the big leagues.”

I recently gave the keynote speech at the Namastream.com international gathering of health and wellness female entrepreneurs.

In advance of the keynote I asked the software company founders Jeni and Sandy what they wanted me to focus on.

The answer? Failure to scale. In Sandy’s words: “Stop rearranging your website colors and launch your next product!”

As women, we didn’t ask for the training of perfectionism –we were just happy babies, born into a society chock full of social rules and regulations aimed at women.

We carry it with us though, so of course it shows up in female entrepreneur culture. “I can’t scale yet, I just need to get one more thing perfected……”

Perfectionism keeps you busy: re-writing your bio, writing another blog post, going to your 11 millionth brownbag lunch, and you’re stationary. You’re treading water. You’re a threat to no one.

Building your life’s work, advancing your body of achievements means going after power, positioning yourself, your company and product for the win with a run in your stockings and your heart in your mouth.