"Fixer Upper" star Joanna Gaines has admitted she used to be a "textbook control freak" who constantly sought perfection -- until a devastating back injury changed her perspective.



"I used to want to do everything, be everything," the 39-year-old HGTV star writes of her career in design in the latest issue of The Magnolia Journal. "This may make me sound like a textbook control freak and I probably was."



She added, "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."



However, Joanna was forced to slow down after a back injury she suffered during her high school cheerleader days re-emerged. While the situation was less than ideal, Joanna said it forced her to take break and give up control.



"I started to witness others solving problems in ways I would never have thought of," she writes. "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."



Taking a break, Joanna said, also allowed her to discover her true passion in life: "I love creating beauty. That's my lane," she says, "I am no longer going to fall into the trap of believing that I need to be the best at everything."

