'Fixer Upper' Star Joanna Gaines Shares Past Struggle With Perfectionism and How She Overcame It
If the show "Fixer Upper" is indicative of anything, it's that 39-year-old Joanna Gaines is a perfectionist who wants to "do everything, be everything" all at the same time.
Gaines revealed in the latest issue of The Magnolia Journal that she was a "textbook control freak" who sought affirmation in the things that she did. "There was something more sinister hiding in my best-laid plans. I realize now that I found my self-worth neatly packaged together with all that I did," she explained.
However, she was forced to slow down after suffering from a back injury, which she suffered during her high school cheerleading days, according to the Gospel Herald. It was upsetting for Gaines to sit back and do nothing because of the injury, but she said she learned something valuable in the experience.
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"I started to witness others solving problems in ways I would never have thought of," she said. "I saw them come alive as they were given the space and encouragement to really go after it without me standing over their shoulder waiting for them to make a misstep."
During this unwelcomed break, Gaines also realized her true passion in life. "I love creating beauty. That's my lane," she said, adding that "I am no longer going to fall into the trap of believing that I need to be the best at everything."
Gaines is married to Chip, who is actually her complete opposite. Despite their differences, the two have a happy marriage. Chip even told PEOPLE earlier that the secret to their union is setting boundaries in their relationship that both of them respect. At the same time, they have learned how to weigh in on each other's strengths.
"That was one thing that I learned pretty early on is that ... I am a big creative by nature so I was always stepping in her universe and I was always thankful she wasn't micromanaging my side of the business, so it worked," he said.
"But I would come in and have these bold opinions about everything. And then after about a year of sort of wrestling with each other like that, I realized A: I wasn't as good at it as I thought I was, so that was a problem, and then B: Why not let her really go for it in her way?"
