The hidden costs of perfectionism…

Perfectionism is not, as many think, about always trying to make things perfect. It’s more like a state of mind where nothing ever seems good enough. The consequences of getting trapped in this can be brutal…

For a perfectionist, striving for something flawless isn’t just about the end result – it usually means obsessing over the efforts, too. There’s no official psychological diagnosis for this, but it’s believed to be tied with anxiety – which affects a third of all American lives.

The hardest thing about a perfectionist? Self-applied pressure. According to research in the Journal of Psychology and Cognition, this usually takes the form of: a chronic fear of making mistakes, self-criticism, and unrealistic personal expectations.

“What will they think of me?” is a question that haunts perfectionists. The underlying fear is that you’ll be confronted by your own worthlessness. This is both a cause and a symptom of anxiety, which can trap you in a vicious cycle.

Analysis paralysis is another cruel form of perfectionism. You’re so driven to produce the best results that you overthink things and procrastinate, crippling your decision-making process.

When this indecision spills over and spreads into everyday tasks that aren’t so important, your confidence suffers and you can get caught up in little details, blurring the big picture.

Perfectionists don’t have a healthy relationship with sleep, either. The low-grade anxiety that stems from overthinking things makes it harder to fall asleep and increases the chance of disrupted rest.

Beyond not “switching off”, perfectionists tend to have unrealistic expectations about sleep itself – which includes exaggerated beliefs about the consequences of not getting enough rest. This leads to another vicious cycle where diminished sleep gives rise to helplessness.

So how do you fix it? Anxiety and sleep problems are treatable through professional help. But one remedy you can do by yourself is to practice something you’re not good at (e.g. art or music). This helps you learn to tolerate imperfection.

Bottom line: Perfectionism is a counterproductive trap that seriously harms your confidence, decision-making, and even your sleep. The irony is that by letting go of “all or nothing” thinking and then learning to accept imperfections, you put yourself in a position to be better.