How to Stop the Vicious Cycle of Perfectionism and Anxiety
It’s time to ditch perfectionism’s worries and embrace “excellencism” instead
In a recent episode of The Bear, a TV series about life as an aspiring chef, lead character Carmy writes notes to remind himself that there are no exceptions to achieving perfection.
His perfectionism, though, slowly tears him apart and drives others away.
The fictional scenario plays out all too often in real life, as I often see with my psychotherapy clients. While it might seem obvious that we all need balance in life, sometimes perfection seems like the only way forward. How do we recognize when striving for perfection morphs into perfectionism — and what can we do about it?
Perfection vs. perfectionism
Perfection differs from perfectionism, even though these concepts are often used interchangeably. Perfectionism describes the traits, thoughts, feelings and behaviors that occur when self-worth hinges on accomplishments.
Perfectionism is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable, especially the setting of unrealistically demanding goals accompanied by a disposition to regard failure to achieve them…
