It's something that we all strive for, and yet, being a 'perfectionist' is often talked about in a negative way. Why is that?
(ok, so it's not completely relevant, but about the only thing Google Images was giving me for perfect...)Perfectionism is merely striving for an ideal that we have in mind.
And bettering ourselves is a life-long journey.
But in the end is it about overcoming obstacles and pleasing ourselves, or to become perfect in the eyes of others?
Sure, no one wants to disappoint those in their lives, but is this a viscous cycle of improving one day and feeling bad the next because the same progress was not made for us, or for everyone else?
Taking my life as an example, because that's the only one I'm certain about, I spend much of my time striving to make others happy, or at least make them content. And when this doesn't happen, my mood spirals downward.
But it's a catch-22 you see, because when your livelihood depends on how others view you, in turn making your mistakes the demise of your day/week/month, where's the internal incentive to continue making progress after these blunders?
As I see it, us perfectionists - yes, I'm owning up to this - need to take a step back and ensure that each day we are striving to become better, not just for those around us, but for ourselves too.
Because at the end of each day, everyone is thinking of himself and his loved ones foremost, and we deserve to do a little of that too.
So tell me fellow perfectionists, what keeps your motivation for perfection running high?
Cheers!
-A
4 comments:
as an ex-perfectionist, I can say at the time what kept me going was the hope someone else would recognize all the extra effort I put into to daily tasks, no matter how small. I appreciate these efforts in others now, though for the most part I have leveled off to a determined and hard-working person... its better on my immune system :)
Im not a perfectionist by any means. It feels great.
I have disappointed everyone in my life at least once so perfection is out-of-reach for me pretty much
I had a realization today that the more you take on and the more responsibilities that are handed to you, the more room you have to fail. Once you start doing that, it will hit home that you need to take on less.
jennie - the question then becomes, how did you get past the whole letting people down thing?
matt - i envy you in that regard.
susan - very true. the more you take on the more you are bound to fail and disappoint others. something to think about...
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