A Powerful Voice

Mental Weight Loss

The Perfectionist

An Article by:  Quincy Martel, MA, Life Coach

Experience Mental Weight Loss. Are you a perfectionist? Do you feel compelled to excel beyond the standard limits? Do you have a strict conscience and are more concerned about right and wrong and morality than most people?  

Do you express and pride yourself of being left-brained, rational, and methodical? Do you have a very strict routine, and rarely stray from it. Do you worry often about what could go wrong? 

Do you have problems delegating tasks to other people?  Do you tend to obsess and double-check things to make sure they are correct? Are you extra hard on yourself or do you find you are never meeting your high expectations? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, chances are that you are a perfectionist personality type.  

Perfectionists are responsible people who strive to live a good and honest life.  The perfectionists prides themselves on being rational and having high principles, and strict morality.  

Perfectionists have a strong sense of purpose and lofty ideals. These people like to excel and be the best at whatever they do.  They are oftentimes excellent managers, leaders, athletes, and entrepreneurs. 

Others often view them as responsible, reliable, disciplined and dependable.  Perfectionists make awesome hardworking employees because they are responsible, hard-working, conscientious, and dependable. 

Who doesn’t want to have a dependable, routine-oriented, hardworking, goal-oriented employee working for them? These are all positive qualities of the perfectionist.  

However, some challenges that perfectionists face are rigidity and over-focus on routine. Relationships with perfectionists are affected because they are controlling and uptight. 

Perfectionists often have a high level of anxiety because they have a harsh inner critic that may spill over into their other relationships.  They may come across to others as critical or judgmental as a result. 

They may become frustrated when working with others in groups. People who have this type of personality may have self-esteem issues. This is because perfectionists are very self-critical and they need positive feedback from others to bolster their self-esteem and self-worth.  Oftentimes, perfectionists have problems letting go and delegating control.

High-performance standards and striving for flawlessness also lead to anxiety in perfectionists.  In moderate cases, this can be positive and the individual can achieve great accomplishments. 

When the perfectionist personality becomes maladaptive and exaggerated, it becomes destructive leading the individual to strive for unattainable unrealistic goals.  When unrealistic goals are not met it leads to reduced self-esteem, anxiety and depression in the perfectionist.  

Perfectionists would benefit from learning to accept and live with setbacks. Perfectionists need to accept and learn how to set more realistic goals. Including anxiety reducing techniques such as regular diet, exercise, breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, affirmations, life coaching/counseling, and journaling are also beneficial to the perfectionist.

Some affirmations for Perfectionists

It’s ok to let go. Mental Weight Loss is the new way to get fit forever.

I value life in all its perfections and imperfections

I don’t have to fix everything

I can sit back and enjoy things as they are.