There is a principle that helps to understand the cause and effect between two related things. This is called the Pareto principle and it states that 80% of the results of an action can be attributed to 20% of the cause. It is most likely where we get the phrase “work smarter, not harder”. Unfortunately, for the perfectionist that always tries to get 100% and do 100%, rather than coming to understand that maybe 80% […]
Category Archives: Perfectionism
How to tell if perfectionism is a problem?
Last week, I mentioned a lot of negative aspects when perfectionism is problematic (see here if you missed it and here for the difficulty with the definition). But how can you tell if what you are doing is problematic or not? Given the multiple negative impacts, why then is perfectionism often viewed as a strength? Or how many of us use it as a strength disguised as a fault in interviews? As mentioned in my […]
What are the negative effects of perfectionism pushed too far?
To understand the answer to this question it is important to know that there are different types of perfectionism. Can someone have more than one type? Unfortunately, yes. And as with most cases since it has links to personality and some mental health issues, it may be difficult to change these types of behaviours. It is definitely important to try, if any of the following issues or problems are negatively impacting your life or the […]