Confessions of a recovering perfectionist | Scottie Thompson | TEDxPacific Avenue
In this deeply personal and provocative talk, actress, director and activist Scottie Thompson explores the hidden cost of perfectionism, particularly for women.The pressure to perform perfectly often silences our true selves in today’s filtered, social media–driven world. Drawing from her own journey as a ballerina, Harvard graduate and actress, Scottie reveals how chasing flawlessness became a barrier to authentic expression, creativity, and connection.Grounded in Indigenous wisdom and the profound power of stillness, she offers a path back to the parts of ourselves we’ve been taught to shame and dismiss. Through the lens of Kintsugi – the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold – Scottie invites us to see our breakage not as weakness, but rather as the source of our unique beauty, strength and identity. She poses that in embracing radical self-acceptance over polished perfectionism, we discover a more ‘perfectly’ whole self. Scottie Thompson is an actress, activist, writer and director. She danced professionally with The Richmond Ballet before obtaining a bachelor’s in Postcolonial Performance Studies from Harvard University. She followed her passion for storytelling into a career in film, TV and theater. Her directorial debut Sienna and the Sit premiered at the Oscar-qualifying festival Hollyshorts in 2025.She has recurred in series including Bel Air, 12 Monkeys, NCIS, The Blacklist, and MacGyver, among others. Film credits include Crown Vic, Skyline, Star Trek and most recently Hellfire, opposite Harvey Keitel and Stephen Lang. She produced and starred opposite Gabriel Byrne and Thomas Jane in the #1 ranking Netflix film Murder at Yellowstone City.She is involved in environmental activism and is an Ambassador for Amazon Watch, a nonprofit protecting Indigenous communities in the Amazon Basin. She is a contributing writer for the magazine Art Confidential:LA. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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