Reasons why perfectionism is detrimental

From missed opportunities to procrastination, here are a few reasons why perfectionism can be harmful for us.

Perfectionism is a trait in certain people where they feel the need to achieve perfection at everything they do. While it is a positive trait and healthy perfectionism can get us a lot of successes, the pressure of being perfect at all times can also impact us negatively. The constant pressure created by us on us to be perfect, do everything perfectly, takes away the chances of making even a minor mistake. Hence, when even a minor mistake happens, we see it as a huge failure. Therapist Maythal Eshaghian shared a few reasons why perfectionism can cause emotional harm and create unrealistic expectations for us, which often we fail to reach.

Reasons why perfectionism is detrimental (Unsplash)

Unrealistic standards: Perfectionists usually set very high standards for them to attain. Hence, when minor mistakes happen, they see it as a huge failure and get disappointed with themselves and their capabilities. They can also get into the vicious cycle of disappointment and embarrassment when they cannot attain their own high standards.

Low self-esteem: Not reaching our own standards can create the feeling of being inadequate and incompetent. When we start having these thoughts, we feel we are not good enough for anything at all.

Burnout: the constant pressure of meeting the unrealistic expectations and standards set by us often makes us feel the burnout from pushing ourselves too much on the work.

Procrastination: The main reason for procrastination is often the fear of failure or being under-confident about the task at hand. When perfectionists fail at a work because of their own high standards, they try to delay the other works because their confidence takes a hit.

Decreased productivity: Spending a lot of time perfecting a task can make perfectionists delay the other works, thereby decreasing the productivity and not meeting the standard quantity of work at hand.

Missed opportunities: The fear of failing or making mistakes can make perfectionists not take up new opportunities – this can make them miss out on valuable experiences.