Note this first. To aim for excellence is good. To aim for perfection is a complete waste of time. It just won't happen. You will have expended all that energy to try to achieve perfection, only to discover what you think is perfect just doesn't do the business for someone else. Perfection is subjective (as well as a waste of time).
But if you tend towards perfectionism what can you do? Well, there might be a wee bitty part of you that feels (dare I say, rather smugly) that it is a fine thing indeed to aim for perfection. You might well believe that your perfectionist tendencies mean that you produce great work. But it is more likely that you achieve little, because you spend such a long time planning and tinkering and honing. And you can make yourself very afraid of criticism, even the helpful kind. When you have invested so much time, effort, thought, anguish into producing something, the last thing you can bear is someone pointing something out. Another risk is that even if you get something done, you could miss the deadline.
But why should we accept that we are imperfect? Because accepting mistakes, failure, imperfection will make us happier. Perfection is an unnecessary burden.
Here is one method of overcoming perfectionism (another is to come and see me!). It is a cognitive technique called The Downward Arrow.
Consider a task or facet which you feel needs to be perfect.
Ask these questions. Why does it need to be perfect. You might say, because I have a reputation to maintain. Next question. Why does that matter. And continue to ask that same question against all your answers. You might find out what you are fearing. Then you can do something about it!
But if you tend towards perfectionism what can you do? Well, there might be a wee bitty part of you that feels (dare I say, rather smugly) that it is a fine thing indeed to aim for perfection. You might well believe that your perfectionist tendencies mean that you produce great work. But it is more likely that you achieve little, because you spend such a long time planning and tinkering and honing. And you can make yourself very afraid of criticism, even the helpful kind. When you have invested so much time, effort, thought, anguish into producing something, the last thing you can bear is someone pointing something out. Another risk is that even if you get something done, you could miss the deadline.
But why should we accept that we are imperfect? Because accepting mistakes, failure, imperfection will make us happier. Perfection is an unnecessary burden.
Here is one method of overcoming perfectionism (another is to come and see me!). It is a cognitive technique called The Downward Arrow.
Consider a task or facet which you feel needs to be perfect.
Ask these questions. Why does it need to be perfect. You might say, because I have a reputation to maintain. Next question. Why does that matter. And continue to ask that same question against all your answers. You might find out what you are fearing. Then you can do something about it!
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