There are many pitfalls of striving for perfection. Most of us are familiar with these damaging effects: the pressure that leads to paralysis, a fear of mistakes, missed deadlines, stress, anxiety, low self-confidence.
But many people also credit their perfectionism for their great success. According to self-professed perfectionist Jeff Szymanski, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist and author of The Perfectionist’s Handbook: Take Risks, Invite Criticism, and Make the Most of Your Mistakes, there is such a thing as healthy perfectionism.
Before posting, please read our blog moderation guidelines. The comments below begin with the oldest comments first. Click on the last comments page to jump to the most recent comments.
Before posting, please read our blog moderation guidelines.
Post a Comment:
Copyright © 1992-2012 Psych Central. All rights reserved.
Site last updated: 24 May 2012
|
Great piece. This needed to be said. Without perfectionism, we’d have nothing approaching perfect.
The Sistine Chapel ceiling could have been painted in five weeks, but it would not approach sublime that way.
Thank you Margarita for this outstanding post. I find it interesting that I came across this after writing a post this morning titled: “Lessons from a recovering perfectionist…”
I find Szymanski’s work that you have shared here valuable and insightful. I can definitely attest to the fact that unhealthy perfectionism stems from fear of failure, and definitely striving to live up to other’s expectations.
Thank you and will be ordering Jeff Szymanski’s book based on your blog post.
Lee
Great post! I too appreciate the point that there is no need to get rid of perfectionism just get it to work for you. There are times where I do just that…but that’s almost never when the stress of deadlines or I’m disappointed in the quality of my work.
It’s so hard to balance and keep the healthy and unhealthy phases in check.
Really interesting, helpful and well, a little scary to face. I know I have fallen into the fear driven-perfectionist routine far too often, and that it is highly associated with pleasing others as if your life (or your identity) depended on it. It sure sounds better to call oneself a perfectionist than to take a hard look at what you really want to achieve, what you are really doing to get there, and how you can adjust strategies that aren’t working. It really does require some courage to look closely. And to learn from the people who manage to maintain high standards with self satisfaction!
I’m a recovering perfectionist myself…
Very timely piece for me as a friend and I have been discussing perfectionism this week. Since I’m a lay person, I was having difficulties explaining the good vs. the bad sides of perfectionism. This puts it into context that I believe my friend can grasp and understand. Thanks!