Monica Ramirez Basco, Psychology Faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Gordon Flett, Canada Research Chair in Personality & Health at the University of York -- discuss the difficulties of perfectionism on the human psyche and offer suggestions on how to manage our perfectionist tendencies.
Comments [7]
It's sad to discover that "specialists" are not aware that the link "many hours - good work" exist only in this anti-intellectual, "Arbeit macht frei" society.
Most people in other, "thinking" societies know that marching zombies' (perfect or not) production is usually far below any acceptable level. Not surprisingly so, you won't find anything American in my kitchen.
:)
Can you comment on perfectionism getting in the way of achieving one's potential? My experience is of not wanting to put myself forward if I am not confident of accomplishing a task to my standards.
I am a perfectionist but after not living up to my own standards, I've just given up -- completely!!! I don't want to be the way I used to be, but this isn't good either. I know find myself expecting perfection in those around me, so it hasn't gone away, it's just been redirected!
Just hearing the subject hurts. I am recently divorced after 20 years of marriage from someone who is obsessed with perfection of cleaning, her looks( became bulimic ), and everyone around her is very hurt from her issues
Perfectionism is a gift and a burden. I am a free-spirited perfectionist whose perfectionism really only shows up in her academic/professional work. I am very laid back otherwise. Where perfectionism can be a burden is in leading one to procrastinate. Because the perfectionist must do every task completely and thoroughly, sometimes its better to avoid tasks entirely. This leads to messy homes and feelings of dread!
What advice/tips can you give borderline clinical perfectionists with respect to letting go/lowering our standards so we ccan just accept that things won't always work out perfectly?
I have been studying theatrical improv and feel it is a sure cure for perfectionism. You can't try to be funny--if you do, it falls flat. Humor comes out of one's immersion (usually physically) in a given situation. This is a valuable life lesson. (BTW, I'm a psychotherapist and have worked through my perfectionism issues in my own treatment.) I think there are certain professions where perfectionism may be a plus--e.g., proofreaders--but generally it's a PITA (pain in the ass) and stultifies most situations.
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