Perfectionism: it's perception, benefits, and pitfalls

At some stage in our lives, we would have observed one or a few people exhibiting a single minded focus and striving towards perfection in the professions of their choice. These people would be oblivious to the world around them and toiling day and night to improve themselves and pushing themselves to achieve a seemingly unattainable goal. Quite possibly you yourself might have been one of them at some point. This single minded focus can be seen very often in sports, with every athlete aspiring to leave their indelible mark in their field. They train relentlessly to reach the pinnacle of their performance. To some degree, almost everyone subscribes of the 10,000 hours rule - the principle states that in order to become world class in any field, you need 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Take Usain Bolt as an example, at age 34, he still hits the gym for 90 minutes daily, trains on the track honing his skills for getting-off-the-blocks, acceleration, deceleration, and speed endurance. This single minded dedication is a hallmark of people aiming for perfection in their respective field of passion or profession. 

 

Perfectionism is a self-drive which makes the individual constantly perform at their peak efficiency and evaluate themselves as to what they did well and what they can improve on. The learning gathered from their earlier performance helps iteratively improve their subsequent actions and performances. Even though Perfectionism can be seen as a personality trait, it might or might not be something we are born with; it could be something we observed in others and respected it enough to subconsciously harness it to help achieve our own goals. Some studies have suggested perfectionistic expectations and criticism of parents could lead to a development of perfectionism in the individual.

There is however a downside to Perfectionism, as it could end up acting like a double-edged sword - whilst there are immense positive benefits of setting high goals and holding oneself to high standards, there is also a possibility that when we fall short of those standards we would react harshly on ourselves leads to negative outcomes like depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Researchers have described two forms of perfectionism: a positive form labelled as normal perfectionism and a negative form labelled as neurotic perfectionism. The main differentiating dimensions could be termed as perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns:

• Perfectionistic strivings is the term that encompasses the personal standards one sets for performance and the striving for flawlessness.
  
• Perfectionistic concerns, are concerns over mistakes, doubts about actions, feelings  of  discrepancy between actual achievements and high expectations, self-criticism, and the fear of failure to live up to one’s own standards and to the high expectations of others.
  

 

For this topic the world can be divided into three types of individuals:
(a) The normal perfectionists display high levels of perfectionistic strivings, but are not overly affected by the perfectionistic concerns.
(b) The neurotic perfectionists also show high levels of perfectionistic strivings but are overly distressed by the perfectionistic concerns.
(c) The nonperfectionists as individuals with low levels of perfectionistic strivings.

 

In the past the perception of Perfection was that it was always negative and unhealthy. Perfectionism was earlier conceived of as a personality style characterized by constant striving for flawlessness and setting excessively high standards for performance accompanied by tendencies for overly critical evaluations of one’s behavior. There have been many studies conducted which has led to new thinking that Perfectionism can be either functional or dysfunctional based on the handling of the two dimensions. 

 

Sticking to the example of athletes, there have been studies conducted that give us an insight into the burnout in elite athletes. Burnout in these athletes is a psychological syndrome of emotional and physical exhaustion, which leads to a reduced sense of accomplishment and more negative feelings about their sport. This is not just manifested by the physical stress of training and competition, but by the athlete’s perception of their ability to meet the demands placed on them. Everyone trains and pushes themselves like their Icons and Idols in their respective sports, but not everyone is able to see their progress in line with their own expectations. Setting goals which are not easily attainable has a benefit of pushing ourselves to reach beyond our boundaries, but this also has a deeply demoralizing effect when we don't achieve our goals as we desire. This leads to intense self-criticism and self-blame, which spills over to the other aspects of the individuals lives.

 

In summary individuals should be able to control their perfectionistic concerns to ensure they live a healthier life. In many cases it is extremely difficult for such individuals to control which leads down the slippery slope of higher levels of anxiety, depression, defensiveness, maladaptive coping styles, and also towards burnouts. Societal understanding and change is also necessary for such individuals cope with the stress of perfectionistic concerns. The stresses of life and training are partly a function of how we respond to them. It is imperative to coach all individuals about living mindfully, to have self-compassion, and other cognitive behavioral therapies to help rein in the negative sides of perfectionism.