Are You a Perfectionist?

Nobody’s perfect, right? No matter how many times we hear this in our daily lives, it can be a difficult message to truly internalize. Whether we are trying to excel at our favorite sport or hobby, achieve high marks in school or at work, or striving to be the best friend, family member, or romantic partner that we can be, it’s hard to accept that we’ll get things wrong along the way.

The Perfectionism Quiz

If you find yourself frustrated when people tell you it’s OK to make mistakes, or feel like you are holding yourself and those around you to impossibly high standards, this fast and free quiz can help you determine just how much of a perfectionist you may be:

Who Is This Perfectionism Quiz For?

This quiz can be useful for anyone who may be feeling overwhelmed and stressed as a result of their own high standards. It’s perfectly fine to want the best for and from ourselves, but not when that success comes at the expense of our physical and mental health.

Perfectionism can lead to stress and burnout, which can affect your sleep, your mood, your energy, and your overall health and happiness. Is perfection worth all that? No, we don’t think so either.

Spotting Perfectionism In Yourself

Recognizing our own potential flaws is one of the biggest challenges we face in our lives. You may not even be able to identify your own perfectionism, for example. If you were raised to be a very high achiever, that may simply be how you have always viewed the world. Changing that may require a wholesale shift in your mindset.

Here are some of the things to watch out for if you are coming to terms with your own perfectionism for the first time. These may be things you spot in your own behavior, or things that others have called out to you:

• Setting unrealistic standards
• Being overly critical of yourself and others
• Procrastination
• Not trying new things in the fear that you won’t excel at them
• Low self-esteem
• Anxiety and depression from unmet goals

Perfectionism can also be a behavior connected to certain mental health conditions such as OCD and ADHD.

Learning to Let Go

Perfectionism isn’t all bad, of course. High achievement is something many of us aspire to in our lives. The difference is that a perfectionist may never actually be satisfied by such achievement, whether it’s because of the little mistakes made along the way or the idea that there’s always another goal to aim for.

Because total perfection is unattainable, perfectionism is a commitment to never being satisfied. Fortunately, there are many strategies to overcome these feelings:

• Try positive self-talk
• Avoid comparing yourself to other people
• Engage those around you in your quest to be less of a stickler—your friends and loved ones can be trusted to let you know when you’re going too hard
• Practice mindfulness. This can help you appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

If perfectionism is having a significant impact on your mental health, it may also be worth talking to a therapist. Strategies like CBT can help you reorient your thought processes and replace your negative thoughts with more positive ones.

Your efforts to be a high achiever are perfectly normal. With a little bit of self-care, you can continue to meet your personal and professional goals while going a little easier on yourself. At the end of the day, you will not only hit your goals, but feel more fulfilled in doing so.