New research published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology has found a clear link between perfectionism and burnout at work, school, and sports.
The findings suggest that perfectionistic concerns create a great deal of stress, resulting in depression, eating disorders, fatigue, anxiety, and even early mortality.
Sounds almost counter-intuitive, right? When we're perfectionists, we're aiming to do our very best, so we figure that trying to be perfect at everything can only lead to positive health outcomes.
But when things aren't going our way -- say, we can't seem to earn the grades at school or promotion at work we've worked so hard to get -- we start doubting our performance. Such feelings of insecurity can snowball into myriad health issues and interfere with our relationships. We begin viewing every mistake as a setback, and we lash out at people who display genuine concern in us.
Not surprisingly, perfectionist concerns had the strongest negative effects in contributing to burnout at work. Whereas a student can always be rewarded with an "A" on the next exam and an athlete can make the winning shot for his team, it's easier for an employee's hard work to go unnoticed. What's more, it seems people often have more social support at school or on the team. In the workplace, politics and brown-nosing tend to override any effort on the part of colleagues to lend a helping ear or hand.
I assume that all of us exhibit perfectionist tendencies in certain areas of our lives. I was always this way as a student and continue to be one in my career as far as my writing is concerned.
Although striving to be perfect is good in the sense we try to minimize mistakes and maximize quality and output, not being so is actually a good thing.
In fact, how else would we grow if not for the fact that we aren't perfect? Whether it's making mistakes or having a hard time mastering a trade, becoming better at something -- little by little -- is often the most rewarding part of the experience. We all go through this from an early age. Remember how it felt to learn to walk, write, or ride a bike? It seemed like an uphill battle at times, but as we made small steps toward achieving our goal, we noticed our incremental progress -- and it made us feel good. Many of us will also experience this as adults when striving to accomplish such goals as losing weight.
In sum, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be great at something, but don't lose perspective. As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. Achieving something often takes great effort and sacrifice. Instead of being down on yourself when you experience a setback, consider it a small fork in the road on the ultimate path to success. No one's perfect!
Are you a perfectionist? Have you ever been hard on yourself for not getting results? Please comment here or on Google +.
Other great posts await you here: How to Understand People
The findings suggest that perfectionistic concerns create a great deal of stress, resulting in depression, eating disorders, fatigue, anxiety, and even early mortality.
Sounds almost counter-intuitive, right? When we're perfectionists, we're aiming to do our very best, so we figure that trying to be perfect at everything can only lead to positive health outcomes.
But when things aren't going our way -- say, we can't seem to earn the grades at school or promotion at work we've worked so hard to get -- we start doubting our performance. Such feelings of insecurity can snowball into myriad health issues and interfere with our relationships. We begin viewing every mistake as a setback, and we lash out at people who display genuine concern in us.
Not surprisingly, perfectionist concerns had the strongest negative effects in contributing to burnout at work. Whereas a student can always be rewarded with an "A" on the next exam and an athlete can make the winning shot for his team, it's easier for an employee's hard work to go unnoticed. What's more, it seems people often have more social support at school or on the team. In the workplace, politics and brown-nosing tend to override any effort on the part of colleagues to lend a helping ear or hand.
I assume that all of us exhibit perfectionist tendencies in certain areas of our lives. I was always this way as a student and continue to be one in my career as far as my writing is concerned.
Although striving to be perfect is good in the sense we try to minimize mistakes and maximize quality and output, not being so is actually a good thing.
In fact, how else would we grow if not for the fact that we aren't perfect? Whether it's making mistakes or having a hard time mastering a trade, becoming better at something -- little by little -- is often the most rewarding part of the experience. We all go through this from an early age. Remember how it felt to learn to walk, write, or ride a bike? It seemed like an uphill battle at times, but as we made small steps toward achieving our goal, we noticed our incremental progress -- and it made us feel good. Many of us will also experience this as adults when striving to accomplish such goals as losing weight.
In sum, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be great at something, but don't lose perspective. As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. Achieving something often takes great effort and sacrifice. Instead of being down on yourself when you experience a setback, consider it a small fork in the road on the ultimate path to success. No one's perfect!
Are you a perfectionist? Have you ever been hard on yourself for not getting results? Please comment here or on Google +.
Other great posts await you here: How to Understand People
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