Youth talk

Are you a perfectionist? You might be if you set yourself to a high standard and demand nothing less. This kind of striving for excellence is an incredibly invaluable trait, and experts agree. But, when this perfectionism is coupled with a constant fear of making mistakes, it can prove harmful for the person in question, and so there is a growing body of research on ways to overcome it.

If you’ve ever decided that your bookshelf needed reorganising into alphabetical (or descending, as I like to have it) order when you had an important assignment due, then you might want to stop to think about whether your quest for accomplishment is doing you more harm than good. Procrastination in fear of failure or an all-or-nothing attitude to life events can both seriously hurt one’s goals. Psychologists therefore like to make the distinction between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, highlighting the nasty side effects that come with the latter.

I never previously considered myself a perfectionist because my end results are far from optimal but if I really think about it, the above example is in fact very relatable and I have definitely shied away from trying out new experiences for fear of not being able to carry it out flawlessly. It explains why I have not picked up drawing in a long time or think twice about trying out new recipes in the kitchen.

In a survey spearheaded by researcher Bob Goldman, elite athletes were asked whether they would take a drug that guaranteed them a gold medal, but that meant they would be dead within five years’ time. Fifty per cent reported that they would, this result remaining consistent with further trials. This statistic illustrates the more grim aspect of chasing after perfection. 

With all things in life, and in the words of Sam Smith, too much of a good thing isn’t good for long. Perfectionism, although a highly desirable trait both at home and in the workplace, if coupled with unrealistic standards can lead to a life filled with anxiety and unhappiness.