Battling Perfectionistic Tendencies

This semester, I wrote a paper to get extra credit points (my Macquarie and UiT credits didn't add up). The task was fairly simple; all I had to do was write a 5-10 page paper on something pertaining to one of the classes we have this semester (so either Health Psychology or Organizational Psychology). I decided to write a paper on perfectionism and how it relates to mental health. The reason I chose this topic was primarily because I am a perfectionist. Not in all areas, but definitely in regards to academics. My Grandma has always said "As long as you do your best, that's fine". Well, one can always do a little better. There's always more time that could be spent studying or tweaking a paper.

Excerpt from my paper: 
Perfectionism entails having “high standards of performance which are accompanied by tendencies for overly critical evaluations of one’s own behavior” (Frost, Martin, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990). Features that characterize perfectionists are: being overly concerned with making mistakes, dichotomous thinking style (i.e. it is either perfect or worthless), and having an overemphasis on precision, order, and organization (Frost, Martin, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990). Perfectionists often have trouble with procrastination and/or finishing things. This is likely due to the fact that they are worried about not achieving a perfect result and put off starting altogether or they keep nitpicking because they have trouble realizing when they have reached the point of diminishing return (Burns, 1980). 

Perfectionism has been linked to a large array of psychological and physical disorders, and other forms of maladjustment. However, perfectionism isn't purely a bad thing. Differentiations have been made between healthy vs. neurotic perfectionism. The differentiation is between a component of perfectionism that is maladaptive and causes distress, and another component of perfectionism that is relatively neutral and in some cases even adaptive. People can set high standards for themselves and strive for achieving them without it being unhealthy or debilitating. The evaluation tendencies of healthy and neurotic perfectionists are different. For instance, a healthy perfectionist will be able to accept minor flaws in their performance while still believing they have been successful. Contrary, a neurotic perfectionist will be characterized by a very black and white view of their performance; either they were perfect and succeeded, or they were flawed and failed. The goals they set unrealistically high, resulting in a constant battle of wanting to achieve and their failure to do this. The psychological maladjustments and pathologies associated with perfectionism are likely more due the overly critical evaluation than purely having excessively high standards. So the key point here is that you should try to be a healthy perfectionist. 

In one of my tutorials the other day, we were discussing a research paper we had to write. The instructor gave us tips on what to include, and how to structure and write the paper. One of her tips was "Don't get it right, get it written". Her point was to first get it written, then edit, and make it right. This hit home with me because, like the perfectionists in my excerpt, I either procrastinate the whole task or don't realize when I've reached the point of diminishing return (meaning that beyond a certain point the effort you put in doesn't proportionately increase the benefits). 

While procrastinating at the library, I came across a list on Buzzfeed: "The 30 things you must stop doing to yourself". Number 23 was "Stop trying to make things perfect. The real world doesn't reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done". Earlier this evening I met a friend in the laundry room (laundry is a great way to procrastinate). His response to me not knowing what to write about was "Just write something, and it will work out". At this point I felt like the universe was telling me that I just needed to finish the term paper. Just write something, edit it, and be done with it! So that's what I'm going to do... I will have a first draft by the time I leave for Brisbane tomorrow evening, you mark my words! 

This is the song that automatically plays in my head when I need to get motivated to write. 

This may take all night... But thanks to my awesome Papa, I can eat lots of Norwegian chocolate while getting this first draft done. I can also straighten my hair if I feel like it. I wasn't expecting 800grams of goodness when I hinted that maybe he should send some chocolate along with my hair straightener... He knows me too well. Tusen takk, far! 

(Don't worry, Heidi and Martin, I won't eat it all... I will bring some along to Brisbane!)

Anywho, back to paper writing. Let's do this! Hammertime! 

Love,
Suzy

Excerpt references:
- Burns, D. D. (1980). The perfectionist’s script for self-defeat. Psychology Today,14, 35 – 52.

- Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 449 – 468.