Introduction
Perfectionism is one of the most prized traits in our culture. High achievers like Steve Jobs are always credited with their success and people insist that others should strive for a similar type of perfection. However, psychologists have been fast in noting the impact of working with the aim of perfectionism as it can damage creativity. Psychologists define a perfectionist as someone that sets ambitious goals towards their jobs and focuses on achieving those goals with extreme meticulousness and attention. Perfectionism can include elevated standards in all spheres of life including household chores, relationships, and parenting. The problem with perfectionists is that they can take things too far. They set standards which are impossible to meet and devalue work that does not meet their impossible standards. This paper analyzes Landau's account of perfectionism in Chapters 3 and 4 of Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World . The thesis for this paper is that perfectionism is a social problem and that perfectionism interferes with success.
Chapter 3 and 4 Summary
Landau explores the topic of perfectionism by addressing various negative effects in Chapter 3 of Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World. He writes that perfectionism is one of the presuppositions that make people believe that life is meaningless. Perfectionists believe that meaningful lives should include excellence, success, and a rare or difficult level of achievement. To them, lives that do not show the characteristics cannot be labeled as meaningful. Meaningful lives should include achievements beyond the common and mundane. Chapter 3 presents several arguments against perfectionism when trying to find out the meaning of life. One argument is that perfectionists uphold double standards by applauding the achievement standards of others and discriminating themselves. The other argument is that perfectionism involves a great deal of cruelty. The next argument is that perfectionism is based on excessive competitiveness.
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Chapter 4 traces the nonperfectionist views in various subjects such as religion, philosophy, literature, and visual arts. The chapter further explores the definition of nonperfectionism as identified among religious notions of supererogation. Other works of art that have been explored include Hemingway’s, William Carlos William’s poetry, Tolstoy’s prose, Hesse’s, Wim Wenders’s films, Ingmar Bergman, and Impressionist art. The discussion further shows that even though nonperfectionists can look up to ideals and strive to attain them, they can still thrive even when the ideals they wish to attain have not been achieved. Rejecting perfectionism does not mean that people should not have any standards. Instead, it means that life remains still meaningful even after those standards have not been achieved.
Arguments against Perfectionism
Perfectionism is a social problem
Perfectionism can be described as a social problem because it affects the work and life balance of an individual. In our contemporary world, the setting of high standards has become a commonly accepted and social norm. Perfectionists tend to be workaholics who spend several hours throughout the year engaging in work. Their social life undergoes major changes as they spend several hours engaged in the work. Perfectionism can affect the friends, family members, and partners of an individual. Too much spent in work to become a high achiever can lead to loss of friends and losing touch with family members.
Perfectionism can be described as a social problem because it is a psychological disorder that can be associated with mental illness. Perfectionists rarely find it easy to live with their mistakes. They can hold on to their problems even after failure leading to serious psychological problems like that of depression and suicide. The emphasis on high achievement is one reason why many people get depressed upon failure. Many view achievement, success, and perfectionism as one of the integral components to living and life loses meaning when someone fails. Many people find it difficult to let go in the face of failure because of the consequence of losing everything.
Perfectionism also increases anxiety as people want to appear perfect in almost every situation. Many thus place themselves in a situation where they are faced with high pressure in order to record high achievement. However, experiencing such high levels of anxiety and pressure can be detrimental to one’s health and wellbeing. Nervous tensions also limit their success and this introduces another problem of failure. Perfectionists become fearful once they notice that their failures or imperfections can be noticed by others. This causes a huge amount of stress as they try to protect themselves from any condemnation and humiliation that could arise from failures.
Perfectionist attitude can interfere with success
Perfectionists usually have a prolonged desperation to achieve the unachievable and their anticipations and aspirations usually lead to severe disappointments. These disappointments usually demotivate an individual towards achieving an even greater amount of success. For instance, a perfectionist student would consider achieving 98 percent and not 100 percent in an exam as a form of failure. 98 percent appears is like a zero and they feel demotivated when they achieve it (Landau, 2017). Since it is almost impossible to achieve 100 percent success in every other area of one’s life, perfectionists can find it difficult to get motivated every day since missing a point is as tragic as a complete failure.
Perfectionism can be a hindrance to success because it can cause paralysis when starting to work on both difficult and easy projects. Perfectionists can find it difficult to perform basic activities like doing house chores, cooking a nice meal, applying for jobs, or even working on a novel. They procrastinate these activities because they feel that cannot start the work until they know that they have the time and energy to get to do things perfectly. Procrastinating activities this way puts off projects that are important and one ends up rushing to get the work done in the last minute. Carrying out projects in the last minute causes a rush and leads to an underperformance.
Scientific evidence suggests that when perfectionists are primary concerned with achievement and not disappointing others, they tend to perform poorly and at their worst. This is because perfectionists are usually fixated and overwhelmed by the prospect of failure or success that they fail to pay attention to the tasks at hand. They thus become less efficient because they cannot hold the emotional weight of success or failure. However, perfectionists should try fixing their eyes on merely getting better and trying to improve on their personal best. Doing this will improve their personal performance and enhance their overall wellbeing (Harari et al., 2018).
Objections
Perfection can lead to societal gains
While perfectionism can be considered a societal problem, those that propose perfectionism note that it has led to innovations that have generally benefited the society. Various inventions that are highly applauded today and have hugely benefited the society were made by perfectionists. The advancement in the computer by Steve Jobs and various advancement in medicine were as a result of the works of perfectionists. Whether it is in fields of science, business, or arts, exceptional achievers rarely get to their success through talent alone. Instead, they have to devote themselves obsessively and fully to ensuring quality.
While the arguments are true, it fails to consider that these high achievers that chose to devote to their work did it out of passion and not in the pursuit of perfectionism. Most of them achieved their success a step a time and were never obsessed with perfectionism. They were able to grow their art and talent progressively through success. Even though they faced serious challenges along the way, it did not kill their morale but motivated them as they learned about their mistakes. This is different from perfectionists that do not provide any opportunity for failure.
Perfectionism is required in professional and sensitive careers
Proponents of perfectionism have its benefits where it motives high achievers to pursue new visions and high standards. Professional careers like medicine and engineering require individuals that are perfectionists and perform at their level best. Everyone would be happy when they learn that the surgeon that is going to operate on them is a perfectionist. Similarly, engineering works like buildings, automobiles, ships, or other works where failures could be fatal are usually best handled by perfectionists. A perfectionist has a high standard in their work and the work will be committed without many failures.
The argument that individuals in professional and sensitive careers are perfectionists fails to consider the progressive achievement and growth of these professions. Individuals that are professionals in fields like engineering and medicine have taken many years to perform at their level best. High achievers in sensitive fields like engineering and medicine usually perform their tasks as part of daily routine. They have also undergone efficient training to ensure that they perform at the level best. They have gone through progressive growth and development through patience to become perfectionists.
In conclusion, perfectionism can be referred to as a social problem and can be a hindrance to success. Iddo Landau explores the negative effects of perfectionism in his book titled Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World. Perfectionism can be referred to a social problem because it leads to problems of the family and can cause psychological disorders. Perfectionists can find it difficult to achieve success since focusing on high achievement only can be demoralizing. Those that propose perfectionism note that it can be useful in creating innovations and ensuring individuals in professional careers like medicine and engineering perform at their best.
References
Harari, D., Swider, B. W., Steed, L. B., & Breidenthal, A. P. (2018). Is perfect good? A meta-analysis of perfectionism in the workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology , 103 (10), 1121.
Landau, I. (2017). Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World . Oxford University Press.
