6 Ways being a Perfectionist can be both Advantageous and Detrimental

Hi Loves! I have been a perfectionist for as long as I can remember. I like things neat, clean, and organized, and quite frankly, done correctly. Perfectionists feel like things can always be tweaked and modified to be better. I have a confession—This is soooo me!

Growing up I played every sport possible— Soccer, cheerleading, gymnastics, softball, basketball, track, and horseback riding. When you play sports, one of the very first values you acquire is that "Practice Makes Perfect". Being an athlete (and I use that term loosely), I was used to working hard, investing a lot of time on developing my skills, and continually focused on winning. This discipline has boded well for me in both my professional and personal life. Doing well was ingrained in me from a very young age. Every coach I had motivated me to be better and pushed me to constantly improve. Mix that with my personality type and you have the perfect recipe (pun intended) for a perfectionist attitude— about everything.

So how is being a perfectionist advantageous?

You're really good at what you do. Being a perfectionist means that you likely are a high performer and you produce work and products that are effective and efficient.

Your skills are recognized. Because you are good at what you do you receive accolades from friends, family, and colleagues. You probably receive awards and are recognized for your accomplishments.

You motivate others to reach their highest potential. As a perfectionist you motivate others without even knowing it. People see your accomplishments and it encourages and motivates them to do better. You make a great mentor and others often seek your advice. As you can see, there are positives to being a perfectionist— but there is also a dark side.

Here are the 3 ways being a perfectionist can be detrimental:

It takes longer than it should to get things done. Perfectionists don't have an issue with procrastination, in fact they thrive on deadlines. The challenge is the desire to constantly edit and tweak things. So even though the deadline is met, the task may be pushed back due to constant revisions. In fact, as I write this blog post I am trying hard to avoid making edits!

You can find yourself obsessing over details. The devil is in the details. Obsessing over details can be distracting and and throw you off track. Focusing on minor details can cause the perfectionist to miss the bigger picture.

You are never fully satisfied with your work. This can be very frustrating and stressful. The stress of getting something done but never feeling a sense of satisfaction or accomplishment about it can actually feel like failure.

So what is a perfectionist to do? I have to be honest with you-- I am still working on this. This is a new journey for me and I take pride in doing things well. There are times when I am able to let perfectionism go and other times when I hold on tight. I am getting better though. Here is what I started doing. First, I accept that I always want things to be perfect. Next, I remind myself to be more aware so that I can recognize when I am obsessing over a task. When I find myself obsessing over getting something just right, I stop and remind myself that "Done is better than perfect". My goal is to find a happy medium between finding satisfaction with what I am trying to accomplish and realizing that perfection is an unrealistic goal.

Don't let perfect get in the way of good!

You can find the Floral Print Sleeveless V-neck Maxi Dress I'm wearing at Target. It's part of the A New Day collection. My Courtnee sandals are from Kelly & Katie and I got them from my go-to shoe store DSW. If you follow my blog then you know I wear these a lot! A nude color shoe truly goes with everything. The bag trend this summer has raffia straw bags written all over it. I found this super cute Circle Handle Straw Tote Handbag from Target's A New Day collection for under $40.00! My large Teardrop earrings.....also from Target. What can I say. I go into Target for just two items and leave with a whole outfit.

Xo,

Melissa