A perfectionist is someone who strives to be perfect. Someone who sets high, sometimes impossible, standards for themselves. Someone who strives to achieve greatness and feels despondent when their goals are not met. Many were told as a kid to “shoot for the stars” and are encouraged through incentives to become high achievers. Although wanting to be successful is considered a good thing, perfectionism can cause unhealthy consequences.

In this society, perfection is emphasized and happiness is closely tied with one’s success. However there is a significant connection between perfectionism and depression and people are often more vulnerable to it when stressful events occur due to the fact that they feel like they’re not good enough.

Many psychological effects come with being a perfectionist as well, like the fear of making mistakes, pressure to perform, and self-consciousness. Unlike a high achiever who tries to meet their goals because they want to, a perfectionist is pushed to their goal out of fear. If the goal is not met, they can become depressed and retreat to isolation which is not healthy.

Though perfectionism is supposed to help enable success, it can also be the thing that prevents it. Many have an irrational fear of failure and self critical behavior which leads to the tendency to put off tasks. It goes beyond binge watching a TV show to avoid writing an exam, as this procrastination can cause excessive worry over making the assignment suit their standards. This fear can be overpowering and the desire of being above average can make it hard to finish anything on time.

Everyone wants to be victorious in their goals, but constantly worrying and trying to attain the impossible only leads to stress and desolation. Perfection is a concept that has been etched in people’s minds as a good thing, but it’s not. It is okay to make mistakes and even fail sometimes as it doesn’t make a person inadequate, just human.

Sincerely,

Sydney