Disease of Perfectionism
Perfectionism is great, but when it becomes an obsession it can ruin your life.I have an obsessive personality and I get phases of perfectionism that transform into something similar to OCD and they ruin me. I burn out while studying, I burn out while exercising, hell I even burn out at work. Perfection is bad but there is more to it than just that.
The Good kind:
Perfectionism, the need to be perfect, the need to be better every time, the need to out do oneself is great. Its the engine of human and societal growth. This passion to be better and be right and grow, has taken the world from the stone ages to today. It is this perfectionism that has provided passion to artists, scientists, businessmen to do great things. It is this perfectionism that has made a mother great at parenting or a coach help their student. Perfectionism in and of itself is definitely great!
The Bad kind:
However perfectionism, the need to be perfect, every single time, to be better than before, to push oneself, can get obsessive. It can get obsessive to the stage where it takes over your life, it takes over your routine, your mood and even your personality. The worst is when we start associating our own self worth to perfectionism. This can be through not achieving a goal, or a benchmark that someone else has already achieved, or what others expected of you etc.
Perfectionism, taken to the limit, where it makes you feel bad by taking over your life and self image, is a disease. It hampers long term development and capacity to reach goals and lead a richer life. It makes you burn out, or even quit. It can ruin every other part of your life by focusing on one part and even ruin a project if being obsessive about perfectionism makes you overlook the bigger picture!
Its about balance!:
The good kind of perfectionism is an attitude but its in moderation. It is a passion, an interest, but has not taken over our life. It does not dictate our self worth or self image. We enjoy the task and we love to do it perfectly. We enjoy growing and being better, and even when things can (and do get tough), we do not feel burn out or depressed. We still can go further. This is the attitude that we need, in our life, work, family, health etc.
Once we keep everything in its place, trying to be perfect but not TOO much, we can stay in the game for longer, keep our sanity, enjoy the process and keep growing more effectively. Not only will we be able to achieve but we would also be able to enjoy and be happy! All you have to do is to remind yourself this whenever you are doing something and keep a balance!
The Good kind:
Perfectionism, the need to be perfect, the need to be better every time, the need to out do oneself is great. Its the engine of human and societal growth. This passion to be better and be right and grow, has taken the world from the stone ages to today. It is this perfectionism that has provided passion to artists, scientists, businessmen to do great things. It is this perfectionism that has made a mother great at parenting or a coach help their student. Perfectionism in and of itself is definitely great!
The Bad kind:
However perfectionism, the need to be perfect, every single time, to be better than before, to push oneself, can get obsessive. It can get obsessive to the stage where it takes over your life, it takes over your routine, your mood and even your personality. The worst is when we start associating our own self worth to perfectionism. This can be through not achieving a goal, or a benchmark that someone else has already achieved, or what others expected of you etc.
Perfectionism, taken to the limit, where it makes you feel bad by taking over your life and self image, is a disease. It hampers long term development and capacity to reach goals and lead a richer life. It makes you burn out, or even quit. It can ruin every other part of your life by focusing on one part and even ruin a project if being obsessive about perfectionism makes you overlook the bigger picture!
Its about balance!:
The good kind of perfectionism is an attitude but its in moderation. It is a passion, an interest, but has not taken over our life. It does not dictate our self worth or self image. We enjoy the task and we love to do it perfectly. We enjoy growing and being better, and even when things can (and do get tough), we do not feel burn out or depressed. We still can go further. This is the attitude that we need, in our life, work, family, health etc.
Once we keep everything in its place, trying to be perfect but not TOO much, we can stay in the game for longer, keep our sanity, enjoy the process and keep growing more effectively. Not only will we be able to achieve but we would also be able to enjoy and be happy! All you have to do is to remind yourself this whenever you are doing something and keep a balance!
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