The Concept of Perfectionism

The Concept of Perfectionism

Do you push yourself to be the best? Do you get mad at yourself for not doing the best? Do you delay assignments till the last possible limit because of fear of rejection? Do you feel horrible when work isn’t done to your best ability of when minor failures seem like catastrophic ones? These are all signs of what is known as perfectionism (Pacht 1984). If you seem to agree with most of these things then you might be a perfectionist. According to Webster’s dictionary, it states that perfectionism is "a disposition which regards anything less than perfect, unacceptable." Many people in the world suffer from perfectionism. So is that case of Mike Bellah. His perfectionism lead him to a lifestyle where he lost who he was. He states, "When we’re always playing a part, we no longer know who we really are." Perfectionists try to do everything perfect leading them to an unstable, unsatisfying life. There are many characteristics and effects of perfectionism. Coping with the disorder of being a perfectionist can lead to a much more stable life.

There are many characteristics and causes of perfectionism "It’s a compulsive guide to unrealistic goals" says psychiatrist David Burns. "Setting high personal standards and goals, and working hard to attain them is appropriate," he states, "however, perfectionists set excessively high goals and strive compulsively to achieve them." Perfectionists have the constant drive to be perfect. Anything less than the best is unacceptable to them. They refuse to live with anything than the best. The constant strive for excellence in everything that one does is one key characteristic when describing

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perfectionism. Their measurement of their worth is entirely in terms of productivity and accomplishment. Perfectionists try to do so much to please others, and to show how much they can do, and overlook what they really want to do in life. They might take on so many jobs and get in over their head. They can’t say no to an idea because they would consider

that failure. Many times, perfectionists start things over because things aren’t going perfect (Pacht 1984). Some have long delays in completing assignments, or repeatedly starting over on assignments because the work must be prefect from the beginning and continue to be perfect as one goes along. The causes of perfectionism can be described by th...

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...nt without always accomplishing everything perfect, their life will become better manageable. Coping with perfectionism

may not be easy, but these are a few key ideas to help those live better in life, and instead of trying to be perfect, to be "above average" or "normal."

The many individuals in the world who suffer with perfectionism deal with it day to day. Perfectionists want to be perfect, which leads to a life that is not perfect. You can still set high goals for yourself, but they should be ones that can be accomplished. Some people try and harness perfectionism to work for them than letting it control their lives. They aren’t ashamed of it, and understand that it serves a useful purpose. Some people are able to control it, and some people aren’t. The concept of being perfect is one that cannot be achieved, because no one is ever perfect. It is a symbol of what is correct 100% and because we are human beings and not machines it is not possible. Everyone has goals for themselves, but to live a healthy life, we need to make them realistic. We can still give our best, but we need to please ourselves and be aware of who we are before we need to be perfect for others.