The problem with perfectionists, albeit not the only one, is that they make mountains out of mole hills. A failure to rise to the occasion. A moment of stupidity. An error that not even an eighteen-year-old rookie writer should or would have made.
Perfectionism
Perfectionism is the Enemy
I long ago learned to keep a tight leash on my perfectionism. If I didn’t, it would run circles around me and trip me. Scraped knees and elbows. Bruised shins. Never a pretty picture, and I should know as someone who’s had her fair share of knees and elbows meeting pavement.
Try Again
After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again. For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness, or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul which are more important still. It cures our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God. We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other hand, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection. – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Perfectionism, Meet Failure
The problem with perfectionists, albeit not the only one, is their relationship with failure. They hate to fail. It evidences itself in a number of ways; some struggle with a disproportionate competitive streak or a refusal to try anything new.
Failure is not an Option
While I like the sentiment of “failure is not an option,” I can’t agree with the statement in its entirety. Failure happens, sometimes because of something I’ve done or failed to do and sometimes because of circumstances entirely out of my control. When it does, how will I stand up under it if I live life by the credo “failure is not an option”?
What to Do When You Disappoint Yourself
I disappoint myself on occasion. Some people might argue it’s my perfectionism rearing it’s ugly head, and they’re right at times. I sometimes hold myself to an untenable standard. Other times, I have a legitimate reason to be disappointed with myself.