The Value of Perfectionism

I do not know about you but I tend to be a perfectionist. In fact, I know a lot of people aim for perfection. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I would say … it depends.

Often times we use the word perfectionist as a euphemism. Some people seem to almost be bragging when they say they are perfectionists. And, what being a perfectionist can really mean, is being afraid of making mistakes. Perfectionism is a manifest of fear. It is a method of coping with emotions.

For whatever reason, life teaches us that mistakes are a bad thing. Maybe it is our schooling system. Maybe it is overprotective parents. Who knows. But, how we got here is less important than where we are headed.

Despite what we may have been taught, mistakes are not a bad thing. You do not need to fear making mistakes. And, as an extension, you do not need to be perfect.

This does not, however, mean you should not try to do your best. Doing your personal best has many positive rewards. Doing your best usually causes you to stretch yourself. Which leads to personal growth. Which is a good thing. It is very rewarding, psychologically.

Doing your best can create pride and happiness. Evolution has wired our brains to enjoy the act of overcoming laziness. We feel good when we do not succumb to laziness. That said, laziness is a formidable foe. He will scream in your ear and beg you to stay with him. He will try to convince you that the effort is not going to be worth it.

But, mother nature is smarter than laziness. She knows about the importance of effort. So, she has hard-wired your brain to feel good after doing the work. Doing your best does results in many psychic rewards. Like Gandhi said, “Full effort is full victory.”

What I am saying is that it is important to be able to perceive the line between good perfectionism and bad perfectionism. Good perfectionism means trying your best and hardest. It means striving for excellence. Bad perfectionism means demanding that you actually become perfect.

To sum it up in a sentence, I believe we should strive for perfection knowing full-well it is not attainable. This is another elegant paradox. And, it has everything to do with this past post from the Buddhists. What matters most is the striving.

General Electric CEO, Jack Welch, was always looking for people with the longest "runway." Welch viewed your runway as your capacity for growth. Abraham Lincoln was the embodiment of a long runway. He lifted himself from an absolute nobody to a resident of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Thinking big and striving for excellence/perfection lengthen your runway. It will always give you something new to work on. Something to look forward to. It will stave off complacency and increase engagement. All-in-all it is a pretty great idea. And, one of the keys is to internalize the truth that mistakes and failures are inevitable parts of effectiveness and success. If you need evidence, just read all the mistakes I make on this blog :P

We are talking about a battle of good perfectionism versus bad perfectionism.