Are you a perfectionist? ​ What is the key differentiation between a perfectionist and a high-achiever? As we dwell deeper, what are the health and happiness impact if you are a perfectionist? Many people have tendencies of being perfectionists and are even proud of them, on the other hand, if you are struggling with it, it’s vital to find strategies to get past them, for your peace of mind and balanced self-esteem.

It is a process that may take a little time, but shedding the burden of perfectionism can greatly decrease the level of stress, improve the overall motivation, enjoyment of life for our restless ADHD minds on a daily basis.

Perfectionists vs High Achievers

Understanding the basics of what perfectionism is and is not can help you to stay motivated to make changes. Perfectionism differs from high achievement in one important way: where your focus lies. If you are striving for excellence, you can be happy about your achievements and learn from your mistakes.

Spotting Perfectionist Traits

Perfectionists beat themselves up for anything that appears to be lacking, and this robs them of the satisfaction and pride that comes from all of the things that they do well.

One of the most significant problems that perfectionists face is the fear that if they stop shooting for perfection, they will become low achievers and their goals will go by the wayside. 

A interesting note is that perfectionists usually achieves less than those with more balanced view and attitudes, as a perfectionist’s focus on perfection itself tend to lead to procrastination and self-defeating behaviors.

Practically, if you want to tackle identified perfectionist behavior, here are some important steps you can take to maintain a healthier attitude:

Make a Cost-Benefit Analysis

You may think you’re more effective because of your perfectionism according to research, this probably isn’t true, but at what cost? Perfectionism has many negative consequences, and you may be experiencing several of them right now.

Make a list of all the ways perfectionism is hurting you (and those around you), and you’ll be more motivated to shed these tendencies.

Become Aware of Your Tendencies

You may not realize how pervasive perfectionism can be. By becoming more aware of your patterns, you’re in a better position to alter them. If you’re able, it’s a great idea to record your perfectionistic thoughts as they pop into your head.

It is a great idea to go over your day each night and remember the times when you felt you’d failed, or hadn’t done well enough, and write down what you thought at the time.

This will help you become more aware of perfectionistic thoughts as they come to you in the future. (Journals may help, but the important note is don’t feel you’ve failed if you missed a day or two, just pick it back up in a way that fits your mindset and schedule)

Focus on the Positive

If you’re struggling with perfectionism, you may already realized that you’ve became a master at spotting mistakes in even the best works of others and of yourself. You may just naturally look for it, and notice it above all other things.

While this habit may be difficult to just stop, you can soften your tendency to notice the bad by making a conscious effort to notice all that is good with your work and the achievements of others. If you notice something you don’t like about yourself or your work, for example, look for five other qualities that you do like. This will balance out your critical focus and become a positive new habit.

Alter Your Self-Talk

Those who wrestle with perfectionism tend to have a critical voice in their head telling them their work isn’t good enough, they’re not trying hard enough, and they’re not good enough. If you’re going to overcome perfectionism, you need to work on changing this little voice!

Negative self-talk can perpetuate unhealthy behaviors and wreak havoc on your self-esteem. 

By altering your self-talk, you can go a long way toward enjoying life more and gaining an increased appreciation for yourself and your work.

Take Baby Steps

Perfectionists tend to set goals of unreasonable excellence with no learning curve. These goals tend to be unrealistic and cause problems by being so rigidly demanding and leaving little room for error. Instead, you can reduce a lot of stress by changing your goals.

You don’t have to sacrifice the end result, but if you set bite-sized goals for yourself and reward yourself when you achieve them, you’ll tend to be more forgiving with mistakes. For example, you may normally tackle the task of getting into better shape by working out five times a week.

Unfortunately, if you’re not used to working out regularly, you may get quite sore from such a quick change, and perhaps give up. But setting the goal to exercise once or twice the first week, and add an additional workout periodically until you’ve worked up to your goal, you will more likely reach your goal and enjoy many more ‘successes’ in the process.

Enjoy the Process

You may be used to focusing on results, and beating yourself up if your results are less than perfect. Remember to start with setting baby steps, celebrate micro-wins, which can help you getting through each step and focus on the now. Making this project an enjoyable process throughout.

Support from someone that can relate or understand your struggle will also help significantly. Learn to leverage being involved with a group that is also trying to achieve the same goal you’re after or journaling about how you feel and what you learn as you reach toward your goal.

If you find you don’t achieve perfection, you can then reflect back and see all that you’ve gained in just working toward a worthy goal, assessing and appreciating the gains you did make in the process.

Begin to practice focusing more on the process and journey, rather than the goal itself.

Learn to Handle Criticism

If you tend to look at criticism as an attack, reacting defensively, an attitude change can help. Constructive criticism often gives you important clues on how to improve your performance, making your less-than-perfect performances into useful stepping stones that lead to excellence.

If the criticism you’re receiving is pointed or harsh, it’s okay to remind others (and yourself) that mistakes are a great way to learn.