The tyranny of perfection: We want to look like Cheryl Cole, cook like Nigella AND have a career - but it's never enough A few years ago, I achieved a dream of completing my first triathlon - 1,000m swim followed by a 25-mile cycle and topped off with an eight-mile run. But, after the endorphin high and a brief wave of euphoria, it didn't leave me feeling the way I'd imagined it would - happy, successful, fulfilled. Instead, it left me feeling surprisingly low. Even though I'd finished it within a decent time, I kept thinking I could've, should've, done better. To try to get rid of the nagging negative feelings, I immediately started telling myself that I'd train even harder for a new challenge - a gruelling Ironman triathlon? An Ultramarathon in Death Valley? And then I thought: 'What's going on here? Why, when I achieve something, do I beat myself up after it rather than giving myself a pat on the back?' High standards: Women want to be as beautiful as Cheryl Cole, left, and cook as well as Nigella Lawson I always knew I was a perfectionist, someone who demanded super-human excellence from myself. But as a coping strategy for life, I realised it was not working for me. It had lead to constant self-criticism, not to mention years of feeling inadequate, inferior and unhappy. A friend who fulfilled a dream of becoming a published author also shares these feelings. Rather than basking in the glory, she