by Melissa Holland-Forde

Created on: February 14, 2009

Being a perfectionist is quality that can be positive and can help you achieve many goals in life. If you are a perfectionist, you probably are very productive and driven. As a perfectionist, you do not settle for second best. This is great until being a perfectionist exhibits the law of diminishing returns. If you spend too much time perfecting things as opposed to trusting your natural talent, you productivity decreases.

Society teaches us to be perfectionists. A perfectionist never gives up until something is defined as perfect. At what point is something perfect? After 3 attempts or after 1000. Striving for perfection can take the joy out of an act. By mere repetition of the act, you can develop a certain anxiety over getting the task accomplished and that is not healthy.

Stiving for perfection can also inhibit one's creativity and flow in handling a task. For instance, if someone is a creative writer who wants to write screenplays, his or her obsession with having the perfect format may hinder the creativity needed to develop exciting dialogue or complex characters.

Lastly, striving for perfection diminishes one's self confidence. When you are good at what you do and enjoy it, you know when the task is good enough. If one is constantly second guessing themselves, then they are never happy with the end product.

There are a few different tactics you can try to stop the need to become a perfectionist. One way you can do this is by practicing the process of achieving your task. As you practice your craft and improve, you will trust your talent. As your confidence improves, you will know when your final product is completed in its best form.

A second way you can stop the need to become a perfectionist is by accepting the fact that you are human and that you may make mistakes. If you accept this about yourself, you will not be overly critical of yourself. It is often the fear of making mistakes that contributes to the feeling of having to have everything perfect.

The third way to stop the need to become a perfectionist is to stop focusing on the end result. You must stay in the moment and stay connected to the process of doing what you are trying to acheive. If you focus and become totally engaged in your task, you will enjoy the process. If you are so tied to the end result you create stress and hamper your ability to engage in the entire task.

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