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<\/h3>\n<\/h3>\nPerfectionism is a sly seductress. \u00a0It lures us with an ennobled view of ourselves determined to get every aspect of the project perfect, down to the most minute detail. \u00a0Never satisfied with ourselves for giving performances that are competent or even quite good, we strive for perfection and nothing less.<\/p>\n
Or so we tell ourselves. \u00a0As if we had a clear\u00a0notion\u00a0of what constitutes the “perfect project” when it comes to what we are working on.\u00a0 \u00a0What’s a perfect novel? \u00a0Or a perfect painting, perfect bridge or perfect computer. Who can say?<\/p>\n
Granted, getting a\u00a0perfect score\u00a0on a mathematics test makes sense, since\u00a0the answers to simple grade-school mathematics\u00a0problems\u00a0never vary.\u00a0The answer to “How much is 2+2?”\u00a0\u00a0is always<\/strong>\u00a04.<\/p>\n But for most of what we shoot for in life (i.e. our goals and dreams) there is no commonly agreed upon concept of what is perfect. Yesterday’s perfect vehicle is tomorrow’s clunker.<\/p>\n Being a perfectionist typically\u00a0develops within a family where a child only receives praise for getting top grades, first place prizes, and lead roles;\u00a0genuine effort that falls short is not even recognized, let alone complimented.<\/p>\n Neglected or abused children also become perfectionistic in their attempts to make up for what’s wrong with them or what they must have done wrong to deserve being ignored or “punished”. \u00a0To get positive attention or ward off more punishment, they do whatever they can think of as best they can to impress the negligent parent or appease the abuser. \u00a0But that doesn’t work, not often, so they continue to be neglected or “punished”. \u00a0In addition to the pain they suffer, they feel great frustration in not knowing what to do or how to do it; they lose self-confidence and self-esteem, turning against themselves.\u00a0 Some even become self-abusers.<\/p>\n Because perfection is such an elusive concept, striving\u00a0for perfection\u00a0is like a dog chasing its\u00a0tail, going round in circles, never quite grasping it.<\/p>\n In contrast, we do typically have an idea or sense of when excellence has been achieved. In most industries where things are being invented, if you create a new functional widget that does the job it was meant to do, and does it for less money, more quickly, and for longer periods of time with less maintenance required than the old object, you have achieved excellence.<\/p>\n Even in artistic realms, where the objects created are not to serve a mechanical or physical function (like transporting objects from one place to another), \u00a0but to serve an emotional, intellectual, or spiritual\u00a0one, there still are criteria commonly recognized that need to be satisfied in order to attain excellence.<\/p>\n Striving for excellence allows for mistakes, which give information about what doesn’t work, and perhaps clues as to what to try the next time. \u00a0Perfectionism precludes acceptance of mistakes or flaws; it engenders a feeling of failure and frustration.<\/p>\n Shooting for excellence\u00a0encourages\u00a0finishing a project within a timeframe and feeling good about that; shooting for perfection generates anxiousness and a need to keep extending the time (and often wasting it) to keep trying to get things\u00a0better and better.<\/p>\n No matter how beautiful the painting, how engrossing the novel, or how elegant the code, if it doesn’t get seen, read, or incorporated–what good is it?\u00a0 Holding out to add the last finishing touches shouldn’t take as long as the time already spent to bring it to “near perfection”.<\/p>\n Obsessing over perfection is perhaps more damaging than other common obsessions.\u00a0 \u00a0The homemaker who must check and re-check to make sure the oven is off, the smoke alarm is on, and each door and window is locked before leaving the house at least has a clear and definable end-point.\u00a0 The obsessive perfectionist does not.<\/p>\n Here are some suggestions to start reining in perfectionism:<\/p>\n Navajo rug with deliberate flaws<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is Perfection? Perfectionism is a sly seductress. \u00a0It lures us with an ennobled view of ourselves determined to get every aspect of the project perfect, down to the most minute detail. \u00a0Never satisfied with ourselves for giving performances that are competent or even quite good, we strive for perfection and nothing less. Or so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Causes Perfectionism?<\/h3>\n
What is Excellence?<\/h3>\n
Striving for Excellence, Not Perfection<\/h3>\n
How to Stop Obsessing Over Perfection and Start Producing<\/h3>\n
\n
\nBecause they believe that only God is perfect and that humans cannot achieve the same perfect level, they make sure to leave a little imperfection in anything they create.\u00a0 This is not to suggest that you should deliberately incorporate flaws or mistakes in your work as a way to counter-act your perfectionism; only that doing so is one way to underscore the fallibility of human endeavors which provides opportunities for creative problem solving.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mindworkshypnotherapy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/scan0027_480x480.jpg-233x300.webp\")