If you’ve ever had to ask someone if you’re a perfectionist, then you’re probably not one.

I’m a Perfectionist

Actually, most of the time I like to refer to myself as a “recovering perfectionist who relapses a lot.” This is because for the most part, perfectionism is not seen as a quality trait to have in our society.

For instance, take a look at Merriam-Webster’s definition:

“Perfectionism – The setting of unrealistically demanding goals accompanied by a disposition to regard failure to achieve them as unacceptable and a sign of personal worthlessness.”

And then there’s this Urban Dictionary definition that pretty much sums it up:

“Perfectionist – Anal retentive person who isn’t satisfied with any result.”

Needless to say the general opinion about perfectionists is not good. And on top of that, the vast majority of research to date has indicated that being a perfectionist leads to poor mental health, and even poor physical health when extreme attempts to control lead individuals to have eating disorders. And of course, trying to have a relationship with a perfectionist can definitely be a challenge.

So with all of that said, you can see why I am timid to proudly label myself a perfectionist; however, I was excited to discover a newly published 2015 journal article that could dissolve much of the perfectionist stereotype.

The rest of this post will be summarizing their study findings, and by doing so, I hope to shed a little light on the positive side of perfectionism. So, if you, or a loved one are a perfectionist, this post is for you!

Adaptive, Maladaptive, and Non-Perfectionists

The first thing I found interesting about this article is it explained that in the academic research world, perfectionism is actually broken down into two categories: adaptive perfectionism and maladaptive perfectionism.

Maladaptive individuals are more likely to:

• Have lowered self-esteem and life satisfaction
• Have depression
• Be concerned about making mistakes
• Have high rates of parental criticism
• Have doubts about their actions

Each of these traits were negatively associated with psychological well-being.

These individuals set their personal bars so high that it would be nearly impossible for them to reach their goals. This certainly is a limiting characteristic that will do a person more harm than good.

I admit that in the past, I could identify with the maladaptive perfectionist. If you have ever been told that something was “good enough,” and your first thought was “good enough is not good enough,” then you may fall into this category too.

But, there is hope! Let’s take a look at what the researchers had to say about adaptive perfectionists.

Adaptive perfectionists are more likely to:

• Be able to effectively manage their environment (e.g., work, home life)
• Have greater organization skills
• Have increased perceptions of life purpose

In fact, these adaptive individuals are actually more like non-perfectionists when it comes to perceptions about making mistakes and doubts about their actions. Even more, “adaptive perfectionists and non-perfectionists did not differ in their levels of self-esteem in the current study.” In fact, other studies have found that adaptive individuals can have even higher levels of self-esteem than non-perfectionists!

The Motivating Factor Behind Being a Perfectionist Matters

What I hope you take away from this post is that in some instances being a perfectionist can be a very good thing, and sometimes it can be a very bad thing.

If you’ve seen Gilmore Girls, you just have to compare Rory and Paris to begin to understand how perfectionism can work for you or against you. (And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s a great show; watch it!).

This study helps me see that my quest to be a recovering perfectionist is actually my quest to be a recovering maladaptive perfectionist. Today I know that the closest I will ever get to perfection is to be perfectly imperfect.

In fact, this blog is an example of how I am working to be a healthier perfectionist. There are things about it that I want to improve on, but if I waited to launch it until I felt everything was perfect, then you wouldn’t be reading this right now.

So, tell me, if you’re a perfectionist, can you identify with anything said here? If so, leave me a comment and let me know one way you are working to be a healthier perfectionist today.