A perfectionist comes from childhood - he grew up among very demanding parents who are also perfectionists. Becoming an adult, a person with a syndrome of perfectionism can become a successful person and occupy responsible positions, but more often perfectionism makes a person neurotic with a lack of joy for life .
Who is a perfectionist?
A perfectionist is a person striving for perfection, perfection in everything. For him, there are no half-tones, but there are two poles "perfect" and "imperfect". A perfectionist would do nothing better if he believes that he can not achieve an ideal result. The meaning of the word perfectionism comes from Fr. perfection - perfection. Recognizing the people of perfectionists is not difficult.
How to understand that you are a perfectionist?
The syndrome of an honors pupil is multifaceted and includes several clearly expressed visual features and manifestations of personality traits. Signs of a perfectionist:
- the need to keep everything under control;
- everything must be done at the highest level, other results are not acceptable;
- the desire to please, like others since childhood;
- procrastination - because of the setting for themselves of the most important tasks and the inability to "go" by small intermediate steps towards the goal;
- fear of mistakes, failures;
- criticism of yourself and others;
- "I myself!" In everything, always and everywhere.
Perfectionism is good or bad?
Perfectionism is a disease or not - often close people are surrounded by perfectionists, and sometimes it looks like accentuation of character, especially in a mixture with pedantry, but this is not a disease, although it brings considerable suffering. Perfectionism is useful if it is adequate, a person striving to improve himself and his actions develops in himself:
- hard work;
- constructive criticism;
- exactingness;
- discipline;
- constant personal growth ;
- desire to improve their skills further.
A perfectionist with a neurotic orientation "develops" in a destructive direction, with a predominance of excessive in everything:
- workaholism;
- intolerance to criticism;
- obtrusiveness;
- the obsession;
- Mindfulness;
- the desire to be perfect in all spheres and as a result - inability to achieve goals.
How to get rid of perfectionism?
How to deal with perfectionism in yourself? If this question arose, then there is an awareness of the problem - this is a step towards oneself and the need for change. Psychologists recommend the following steps to get rid of the syndrome perfectionist:
- to accept the shortcomings - this means accepting oneself and others in imperfection, there are no ideal people;
- perfection and the pursuit of the ideal there is no limit, so it is important to set realistic goals for ourselves;
- cease to compare themselves with other people, there will always be smarter, more beautiful, more fortunate, so the comparison is welcomed only with oneself today and those who were yesterday;
- less analysis and cumbersome plans for improvement - more action;
- without errors there is no experience;
- stop being afraid of criticism and condemnation, remembering that other people judge from their own experience, fears, failures.
Perfectionism - treatment
Syndrome of perfectionism is not psychopathology in the literal sense, and personality deformation occurs slowly because of persistent neurotic manifestations, a person develops depression, there is no harmony with himself and others, anxiety and apathy increase. Specific drug treatment does not exist, if the neurosis has developed to a great extent, the therapist can prescribe symptomatic therapy with the use of antidepressants and tranquilizers.
Perfectionism in psychology
Psychologists subdivide perfectionism into a healthy, adequate, inherent in many people and neurotic. Perfectionism as a mental disorder can only be considered if it becomes intrusive, with all the attendant neurotic symptoms. Canadian psychologists in their studies have identified the following aspects of perfectionism:
- I-perfectionism is a tendency of a person to establish for himself inflated demands in work, set goals.
- Perfectionism aimed at others - high standards and the expectation of perfect performance from other people.
- Perfectionism is aimed at the world - an unattainable desire to the fact that everything in the world around us must be beautiful, tidy, and harmonious.
- Social perfectionism. The need of the individual to meet the standards and expectations of society.
Destructive perfectionism
Neurotic or pathological perfectionism is caused by fear of failure. The desire for excellence in everything becomes an obsession, accompanied by neurotic symptoms. Neurotic perfectionists define for themselves an ideal-standard, often not corresponding to their potential. The movement toward the goal does not come from ambitious feelings, but out of fear of failing and being rejected, there is no satisfaction with the process and the results achieved.
Perfectionism in art
Perfectionism in painting is the aspiration of artists to the most realistic perfect image. An example of perfectionism drawing of Leonardo da Vinci "Vetruvinsky man" is a perfect body with ideal proportions. Based on this figure, the French architect developed a modulor - a system of universal harmonious proportions applicable in architecture and mechanics.
Famous perfectionists of the world
Musicians, writers, philosophers, artists, perfectionists in the creative environment, this is a common phenomenon. Striving for perfection and ideal is characteristic for a man of any profession. Famous historical figures and people of our time, who are perfectionists:
- Friedrich Nietzsche - a German philosopher, a typical perfectionist, even a greatly shaken health did not stop him from improving his philosophical works developing the idea of a superman.
- Alexander the Great . Psychologists attribute the desire to conquer foreign countries by the presence of the great commander of perfectionism, which pushed him to new campaigns and conquests.
- Leo Tolstoy . The writer aspired to perfection and perfection in everything, being an example of a perfectionist repeatedly rewriting his works, "War and Peace" according to different data was rewritten 8 to 12 times.
- Steve Jobs . American inventor in the field of IT technology, the creator of Apple very carefully treated even the smallest details. An example of the manifestation of perfectionism can be the fact that Steve for six months forced designers to redo the scroll bar in OS X operating system, thereby delaying the release of a large-scale project.
- Edward Norton . Actor with a very complex character and the desire to constantly improve, refine their roles, than sometimes annoying the crew. After shooting the "Incredible Hulk" Norton decided to attend the installation to make sure that everything is perfect, which was rejected, offended him.
Movies about perfectionists
The theme of perfectionism is well revealed in the following films:
- " Perfectionist / Un Grand Panron " French film about the surgeon Louis Delage, who dedicated medicine all his life. He does his job perfectly, but his family life fails - Louis is a perfectionist in his work, for the rest he has no time, which is very painful for his wife Florence.
- " Black Swan " Nina Sayers is a ballerina, she works hard and hard and she is a manic-compulsive perfectionist. Nina strives to achieve perfection with obsessive persistence, which leads to her eventually to a tragic ending.
- " Beyond the Sea / Beyond The See ". The film is based on a biography of the legend of world music Bobby Darin. His way of becoming is shown. A boy from a poor family with a serious illness - doctors gave him no more than 15 years of life, but he lived 37 thanks to his passionate passion for music and dreamed of remaining in the hearts of people as a great performer of his time.
- " Jobs: The Empire of temptation / Jobs ". Steve Jobs is a legendary person. He is a workaholic and perfectionist and this helped him to become what he had become. Film-biography.
- " Amadeus ". Freestyle interpretation of biographies of two composers Mozart and Salieri. Mozart has talent from God, and Salieri needs a lot and hard work, but the music goes out mediocre, without inspiration. Salieri, with his perfectionism, can not at all resign himself to the fact that Mozart is a more talented composer.