Perfectionism can be viewed as both a good and bad quality. There are many different pros and cons of perfectionism depending on the situation and perspective.
I believe that there is a range of perfectionism that people may experience, and depending on where you fall, you will experience different advantages and disadvantages. Perfectionism can cause challenges with mental health, but it will also produce more polished outcomes without mistakes. Perfectionists will strive to become the best versions of themselves, but may also struggle to be happy or satisfied with the results.
Keep reading to learn more about the pros and cons of perfectionism and how they will affect your daily life.
Pros and Cons of Perfectionism:
Advantages of Perfectionism:
– Attention to detail
Perfectionists have great attention to detail. This allows them to produce accurate work, which can be incredibly important in some professions. For example, it is very important for an engineer to have attention to detail especially when working on tasks pertaining to life safety. Naturally having a knack for paying attention to details will improve your ability at work.
This can also be a benefit at home. With strong attention to detail, you will have a better result when cooking a meal that requires more precise measurements.
{ Related Post: 7 Amazing Tips That Will Help Your Fall Morning Routine }
– Good at catching errors
In addition to a strong attention to detail, perfectionists also are very good at catching errors. This can be their own errors or checking others’ work. Similarly, this applies in work situations as well as at home.
Imagine you are in a situation where you made a dentist appointment, but when you received the confirmation email, you realize it was made for the wrong time. By catching that error, you can ensure that you correct the appointment time now rather than discovering that mistake on the day of the appointment.
– Higher standards
Perfectionists typically have higher standards of themselves as well as others. This can allow a perfectionist to be a powerful leader with a very effective team. Having high standards encourages yourself and others to try their best to meet those standards. This will inevitably improve your outcome and create more polished work with fewer mistakes.
This applies to all aspects of your life. For example, having high standards for a large project at work may open you up for a promotion or a raise in addition to the personal satisfaction you might find from the well-completed project.
This can also apply to your day-to-day life at home. With higher standards, you might make your bed perfectly every morning. Or maybe you have a very organized closet. While there may not be tangible benefits to this, if it makes you feel accomplished, it is absolutely an advantage of perfectionism.
– You will strive to become the best version of yourself
Perfectionists strive to become the best version of themselves, which is important because it lends itself to constant improvement. Rather than settling for a specific outcome, perfectionists always look for the next goal they can set. They will then set their eyes on that goal and reach it. This applies to work, personal life, fitness, and many other things.
For example, a perfectionist who likes running might have a good run overall, but maybe they took a break for water that was a little too long. They will focus on that water break and on their next run, make sure they don’t make that mistake again.
– Great organizational skills
Strong organization is a common trait of a perfectionist. Typically, they will try to organize any messes which will allow for more efficiency in their daily lives. This means their workspace, their home environment, and even their schedule.
Disadvantages of Perfectionism:
– Have trouble getting started/making progress
As mentioned above, perfectionists typically set very high standards for their work. These high standards can make it very difficult to get started. With the pressure that the work needs to come out perfect, perfectionists often find themselves feeling very stuck when trying to figure out where to start.
This can be solved by focusing on progress over perfection. This doesn’t affect the quality of the final product but rather allows you to complete the task more quickly. For more details on how to prioritize progress over perfection, take a look at the article linked below.
{ Related Post: 6 Practical Ways to Start Focusing on Progress Over Perfection }
– You will be very hard on yourself
Perfectionists have a tendency to be very hard on themselves due to the high standards they have set. As I mentioned above, even if they do something overall successfully, they will focus on small mistakes. When you are looking for a mistake or a problem, you will always find one.
This creates an unhealthy cycle where you are constantly looking for the next improvement. In addition, you expect the best from yourself and therefore put pressure on yourself to achieve those expectations.
– Time management is very difficult
Since perfectionists expect extremely high quality, they sometimes will take a long time to get started on a task. Sometimes, they will spend extra time fixing something that wasn’t up to their standards. These things take up a significant amount of time which will create challenges in any time management plans they had.
To help improve this disadvantage, you should try to stick to a plan even if that means you weren’t able to finish the task to your liking. Once the allotted time you had planned is up, you should move on to something else. If the task isn’t complete, then set aside some time to return to the task. This will reduce the amount of time spent unnecessarily staring at something looking for a mistake.
{ Related Post: 6 Morning Routine Mistakes and Why You Need to Fix Them Today! }
– Might be unhappy or dissatisfied
Perfectionism can cause challenges with your mental health. Constantly feeling unsatisfied with yourself or your work can really weigh on you. It is important to acknowledge the improvements and accomplishments you’ve made (even if you already have your sights set on other goals). Simply acknowledging these things will improve your happiness and your motivation to continue working toward your future goals.
Oftentimes, perfectionists are motivated by talking badly to themselves which forces them to continue pushing forward. While this can work for some time, it is not a great method. Rather, you should focus on celebrating yourself as a way to stay motivated.
– Lack of confidence
Due to the constant dissatisfaction and always looking for ways to make something better, perfectionism can lead to a lack of confidence. This lack of confidence can be personal or related to work or projects they complete. Perfectionists are often their own biggest critics and fail to see their own accomplishments and greatness.
The best way to overcome this disadvantage is to try to take a step back and look at the bigger picture from someone else’s shoes. In addition, recording or taking pictures of your progress can help you see what you have accomplished more objectively.
For example, if you’re trying to grow muscle or lose weight, you should try to record your weight, and some measurements, and take a picture from a few different angles. After some time of working toward this goal, you should record those exact same statistics and take pictures from the same angles. Taking this approach will hopefully allow you to take a step back and better understand the progress you’ve made and improve your confidence.
I hope you better understand the pros and cons of perfectionism and have learned the best ways to overcome the disadvantages. Be sure to take a look at the articles linked below and reach out to ourteam@wellroundedyou.com if you have any comments or questions!
Leave a Reply