Thinking about it got me to write an article about aimless perfectionism, which covers the most basic misconception about perfectionism: Not knowing what being perfect means. You have to know what your perfectionism is all about! This is the first essential step.

But it doesn’t stop at that point. Let’s talk about a concrete negative aspect of perfectionism: The fear of making mistakes.

Almost all perfectionists know the fear of making mistakes. It’s something that constantly troubles you if you are a perfectionist. This constant trouble is the base of almost all other negative effects of perfectionism.

What I found out is: This fear of making mistakes is based on a single misconception. Phew, that’s great thing to hear, isn’t it? This means you can get rid of a lot of negative effects of perfectionism by correcting one misconception!

So how to correct this misunderstanding?

There are no mistakes by nature. So what does making a mistake actually mean? Does it mean failing at a test or getting a bad response to any of your actions? Don’t scream ‘yes’ at that point! If that’s what you mean, then you can’t avoid making mistakes! Mistakes are not about the outcome of your actions. I know, it might be a common definition of making a mistake, but the mass is not always right.

So what does making a mistake really mean? It means not acting according to your beliefs in any particular situation. And that’s something very different. You can always act according to your beliefs.

If you keep that in mind you will get rid of some unnecessary burdens, to say the least. You might need some time to get used to this new conception but once you got used to it, you will enjoy the freedom it causes.

Your perfectionist fears will vanish. And most of the other negative aspects of perfectionism will vanish as well. You will be able to let go and still be a perfectionist. A combination that I myself wouldn’t have thought to be possible some weeks ago.

But why is that? Why exactly? What are the disadvantages of being a perfectionist? Of trying to be perfect?

That’s what I want to answer in this article. (Of course, there are benefits as well but that’s just not what this article is about.)

Let’s just jump to the negative effects of perfectionism:

• Low productivity: As a perfectionists you tend to pay a lot of attention to unimportant details. So you usually need longer to write articles complete other work.
• Psychic instability: People are not perfect. And moments of failure haunt you. In times of (even little) failure, you may hate yourself for being imperfect. This can result in low self-esteem and depression.
• More stress: If you want to be perfect in every way, then you put yourself under a huge constant unhealthy pressure. This can also lead to increased nervousness and therefore increased chance of failure.
• Constant fear of failure: Fear is bad enough on its own. The problem is, that you also act less because of this constant fear. Paradoxically, this also means that you miss chances to improve yourself.
• Less enjoyment: Just letting go is quite pleasant. The problem is that perfectionists usually can’t just let go. It’s also because of the previous point. A perfectionist doesn’t want to let go because he fears the possible consequences of losing control for a moment. It seems to be a basic perfectionistic belief that you need to control everything if you want to be perfect.

All in all, extreme perfectionism can have really horrible consequences. It’s a strive for perfectionism that doesn’t end. A strive for perfectionism that can destroy you.

In most of its different forms, perfectionism seldom makes you smile. It rather takes away your smile. But in case you’ve ever tried to change such a deep-rooted attitude you should know that it’s extremely hard to get rid of it. And it takes a lot of time.