Preview

Strengths Of Perfectionism Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
427 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Strengths Of Perfectionism Essay
erfectionism; Its one of those qualities that on the face of it is a strength. Perfectionists are determined to achieve and let nothing stand in their way. They consistently produce high quality results. They demand the best from themselves and expect their team to perform to the same high standard.

But as most perfectionists know to their cost, there is a down side to setting your standards so high. I speak from my own experience, but I also recognize a lot of my clients have this quality, and suffer from it. Perfectionists fear failure, and are intolerant of their own shortcomings, as well as any less than perfect performances by their teams. Paradoxically they also fear success, as the effort they have to put into achieving success can
…show more content…
It can be hard to stay motivated to start something new, or to finish a project; it can lead to obsessive behavior, or a compulsion to have a very controlled and regulated lifestyle.

So how do you utilize your perfectionist tendencies, so that you can become a healthily balanced, successful high achiever? Here are a five tips that can help.

1 Review the targets and standards you are setting yourself. Are they achievable, and sustainable? Could you settle for less, but guarantee yourself that you can maintain the standard?

2 Learn to take pleasure in the process of reaching your goals, not only the end goal. Set milestones and allow yourself to take credit for reaching them.

3 Accept disappointment, but don’t despair – find out how to put disappointment behind you. The route to your goal may not be direct, and you may have to take a few turns along the way, but use your determination to keep looking for the right track.

4 When you see you are not moving forward, check that there is not an underlying fear of failure holding you back. See a mistake, whether your own or by someone else, as an opportunity to learn and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    expect perfection. strive for perfection. excel in achieving perfection. avoid mistakes and errors. conform to strict tolerances.…

    • 7443 Words
    • 30 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The essay entitled, Perfectionism was an inspiring piece, discussing that of which haunts all writers: perfect writing. The over all though of perfectionism seemed to be that it was a curse but one that could be over come. Perfectionism seemed to focus more on acceptance of mistakes, and enjoying the process instead of forcing a perfect product. Lamott's Shitty First Drafts, to me seemed more focused on a subtopic of perfectionism. Letting the urge to write carry you, type whatever it is the story demands of you then... simply fix it up later.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As shown in "The Author to Her Book" by Anne Bradstreet, perfectionism is not a new phenomenon. Bradstreet uses diction, imagery, and tone to display her insecurities about, and dislike of, her own work, resulting from the human imperfections that have created an inadequate piece of literature.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poem Analysis: 'Pancakes'

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “You're going to have to settle for sub-par performance and realize your imperfect like the rest of us”. This is a quote from the story Pancakes that is very true and makes you think that you have something imperfect about you. For Jill, a perfectionist this it's hard to realize that nobody can be perfect at everything but soon she’ll learn that their is such thing as being imperfect. Picture a somewhat empty cafe and then all of a sudden a lady comes in with a question. The question is “Table for sixty-six?” you can just imagine how Jill felt at that moment and how anxiety she had.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    I approach everything step by step....I had always set short-term goals. As I look back, each one of the steps or successes led to the next one. When I got cut from the varsity team as a sophomore in high school, I learned something. I knew I never wanted to feel that bad again....So I set a goal of becoming a starter on the varsity. That’s what I focused on all summer. When I worked on my game, that’s what I thought about. When it happened, I set another goal, a reasonable, manageable goal that I could realistically achieve if I worked hard enough....I guess I approached it with the end in mind. I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there. As I reached those goals, they built on one another. I gained a little confidence every time I came through.…

    • 1569 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In life, to successfully move forward I need to establish goals. “The tragedy in life is not reaching your goal, but having no goal to reach” (Leadership for Student Activities, 2005). I must have a plan of how I will achieve my goals and be able to identify when an important element of that goal is reached. Possible setbacks must be considered and purposeful schemes arranged for when the unexpected shows up. According to Deci and Ryan (1984), “Goals, whether trivial, routine, significant or life altering, are part of peoples everyday lives”.…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Based on the quote “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” by Babe Ruth a person should learn to never give up because when you give up you will not get anywhere in life. Overcoming all the failures in life is going to be hard but it will be worth it. Giving up on the dreams you have had will not take you places you should always keep your head down and drive through all the failures you have faced. If you give up that makes you further away from what you have been dreaming about failure is a mere shadow of success, once you succeed you will look back at your failures and take them in as the way you reached success.…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unquestionably, my limiting style that is working against me and reduces my overall effectiveness stems from my yearning to be a perfectionist and to complete a task to the highest standard. Through implying such a method, I feel that I have subconsciously worked to limit my professional effectiveness in organizations and have not be able to develop as quickly as I’d like as I am constantly held back by tasks which need to be completed and sent out in a quick and specific time frame rather than something that is slow and tenuous in nature.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    keep your goals in mind, you will not astray from them. Achieving goals that you have set for…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The repetition of the word "perfect" emphasises the importance of achieving perfection to the persona.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The first success strategy I plan on using all the time is accepting personal responsibility. There will be time when I need to focus on school and worry less about my free time. For example, I have a test to do on Monday and I have to study in order to get an “A” and pass the course. The weekend comes around and all I do is procrastinate my studying. The smart thing to do about this situation would be to think wise and use my self-management strategy. Free time will always be available but a test that determines your grade will not. This helps me to be a creator about things and keeping up with the self-management strategy.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    I also noticed while taking the quiz of how I look for imperfections in others when they are making mistakes in their own work, and notice mistakes in my own work as well. I strive to work at getting something correct to aim to the top. I look to win in any situation to feel better about myself and to prove that I am able to accomplish what I want. I do believe that perfectionist tendencies are a direct result of a parenting practices that a person experience. I think that parents have a great deal of filtering practices in their children from a young age to adulthood. They have brought them up to be who they are suppose to be in their eyes. Many children listen to the words of their parents and follow through. For instance, parents always direct their children to a positive place and help them become better at work, school and chores at home. They try to guide them to achieve a higher level of greatness. Children who try to be perfectionists themselves feel the stress of trying to please their parents and become highly anxious, can be angrier and or upset by the mistakes that they make. Parents these days should be able to educate their children about perfectionism and to help them to understand that it can make you overly critical, can make someone very unhappy and anxious…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout my whole life and all of the activities that I am involved in, perfectionism always comes into play. Whether it’s my schoolwork or volleyball, I struggle with this on a daily basis. It’s a blessing because it makes me work harder for what I want but also a curse because it can be very stressful and hurt my confidence. I am beginning to find a way to let it benefit me more than hurt me and I am so glad that I have finally been able to do that. Working hard, spending hours on homework making sure everything is done to its best.…

    • 1355 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Perfectionism Effects

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Some people urge themselves to better performance with slogans like “Practice makes perfect.” However, I am a perfectionist, and I have to remember another slogan: “Sometimes good is good enough.” I stay away from proverbs that urge perfection. Over the years, I have noticed that the effects of perfectionism are mostly negative. Perfectionism affects my performance in high-pressure situations, the speed of my work, and the way I see myself.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Perfection is a state of completeness and flawlessness. Burke, in defining humans, said that we are "rotten with perfection." He argued that because symbols allow us to concieve and name perfect forms or ideals at the top of the hierarchy. Humans experience guilt due to the perceived…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays