3 Reasons Perfectionism is not letting you succeed
What would you rather be “perfect” or “just fine”?
I never knew I was a perfectionist, and I was proud of doing things just flawlessly.
In fact, when I first saw the movie “Black Swan” during my college days, I was so fond of the lead character or protagonist of the film. The lead actress in the movie is a ballet dancer who wants to make every step perfect and pleasing. She is passionate and somewhat obsessed with her art. All her focus is just on giving a final perfect dance to her life.
In pursuit of her dream, she found the dark character within her she could not control. She changes from a humble kind swam into a dark, envious, jealous, and paranoid one.
Her obsession with perfection eventually ends in death. When I researched the meaning of the perfectionist, I found the below definition.
A perfectionist is someone who has a personality that strives for flawlessness. They often accomplish this through fixating on imperfections, trying to control situations, working hard, and/or being critical of the self or others.
In my personal life, I chased perfection in my creative pursuits. In writing blogs, I read and read without actually writing anything.
While sending work emails, I would read them 10 times. If by any chance I made a mistake I would read it 10+ times and spend the whole day in harmful self-talk about what is wrong I did and attaching it to my personal self-worth.
I would retake multiple shots for shooting videos if I fumbled or even repeated a word.
When talking to people in a leadership position, I would rehearse my entire speech in my mind before executing it.
You can see how perfectionism has done more harm than good in my life.
I will give you three reasons. I think perfectionism is harmful and does not help.
- It delays output — Even when doing minor tasks; you give them more time than it deserves because you want to make them perfect.
- It hinders your growth — You do not become great at something without giving it a considerable amount of time. When you live with a critical self within you wanting to make a perfect shot at the very first few tries, it has to lead to disappointment. Remember, growth is an outcome of consistent minor efforts over a period.
- It is bad for your mental and physical health — No doubt obsession with perfection is harmful not only for your physical health but also mental health. It causes unnecessary stress, anxiety, fear, and a constant feeling of not being ever enough for anything you do.
Now, going back to the question I had for you, what would you rather be “perfect” or “just fine”?
Well, I would choose to be just fine, for I know just being fine is beautiful. Isn’t?
