Fear of the Mundane

Perfectonist problems i

Dangers of students expecting too much of themselves

Sydney Territo terrisyd000@hsestudents.org

Have you ever put o a project because you do not know how to do it to the very best of your ability, or felt mad at yourself over not being able to meet the goals you have set? I certainly have. From an early age, I expected far too much of myself and would crumble when faced with a challenge rather than take it head-on and overcome it. If I got anything lower than a C on any assignment, no matter how big or small, it would ruin my day; and I would dwell on the fact that I did poorly,, instead of learning from my mistakes and improving for the future. I am a perfectionist, and it was detrimental to my mental health and ability to learn. Perfectionists are people who experience perfectionism, which is, according to Brown University, sets of self-defeating thoughts and behaviors that stem from being unable to reach unrealistic, excessively high goals. ey create a vicious cycle where, once unreasonable goals are inevitably not reached due to their impossibly high standards, the pressure to achieve these goals increases until it eventually ruins the perfectionists’ self-esteem. ere are two main di erence kinds of perfectionism: adaptive and maladaptive. Maladaptive perfectionism has become very prevalent recently, as shown by an American Psychological Association research paper examining its rise in college age students. e increase in perfectionism may be linked to societal change, where there has been more of a competitive focus in achievement in recent years. omas Curran and Andrew P. Hill examined college students’ responses to the Multidimensional Perfectionism scale and found that self-directed perfectionism levels rose over time, as well as other-oriented perfectonism and socially prescribed perfectionism. ey believe that these rises in perfectionism come from a culture shi where individualism, materialism and social antagonism are stressed. at societal change can be seen everywhere. From sports competitions like the Olympics to the SATs, the pressure to be better than everyone else is ridiculous. I experienced it early on in my development, when I was placed into the “REACH’’ program at my elementrey school. It essentially separated the students who scored higher on standardized tests at an early age from everyone else and then taught them an accelerated curriculum. I was not quite as adept as most of my peers, and I struggled with tests and quizzes much more than they ever did. I believe this caused me to develop an inferority complex, where I was terri ed of performing any less than perfect because I did not want to be looked down upon or judged as a “stupid smart kid.” It was only when I started working on reversing much of my thought processes with the help of a therapist that I was able to accept less desirable grades with more grace and use them as learning. Not only can this perfectionism ruin mental health, it also has a detrimental e ect on performance in the classroom. In a study on the e ect of perfectionism on classroom engagement in chinese colleges, it was found that maldaptive perfectionism correlated with

burnout, whereas adaptive Socially prescribed perfectionism was correlated perfectionism is where to students’ engagement in the perfectionists believe classroom. I cannot deny that that other people expect my perfectionism did bene t them to be perfect and my grades, but it was imensely that these other people bad for my mental health, and if will be highly critical of I hadn’t started to work on it, I them if they fail to meet likely would have ended up in a expectations. similar position to the students in this study. Perfectionism is not always a bad thing,. e National Academic Advising Association small, it would ruin my day; and I Social antagonism is the has said that adaptive would dwell on the fact that I did active hostility between perfectionism can lead to poorly,, instead of learning from opposing social groups. higher achievement in students my mistakes and improving for compared to non-perfectionists, I am a perfectionist, and it the future. present tense? especially those who set high expectations for themselves and was detrimental to my mental also remain optimistic in the health and ability to learn. face of adversity. Not only are Perfectionists are people who they reported to have higher experience perfectionism, which grades, but they also have better is, according to Brown University, self-esteem and less anxiety, sets of self-defeating thoughts depression and stress. and behaviors that stem from Since perfectionism is not inherently bad, the most di cult thing to achieve is the transition Adaptive perfectionism between maladaptive and is a healthier form of adaptive perfectionism. Certi ed perfectionism, where Life Coach Kamini Wood the person who sets believes in nding what motivates high standards is more you and using that goal as increases until it eventually ruins exible as conditions motivation to achieve greatness. the perfectionists’ self-esteem. change. She recommends journaling if ere are two main di erence you struggle with unproductive kinds of perfectionism: adaptive perfectionist ruminations, as and maladaptive. Maladaptive they help identify perfectionistic judgments, and allow you to Maladaptive gure out ways to combat these perfectionism is more thoughts. Once I started to view damaging because my assignments as opportunities the person who is not to learn from my mistakes, it able to meet their high allowed me to be more at peace standards berates with my grades. While I still themselves and puts struggle with my maladaptive themselves down rather thinking, I have a more positive than adapting. and healthy outlook, which Who? greatly improved my mental health.

perfectionism levels rose over time, as well as other-oriented perfectonism and socially prescribed perfectionism. ey believe that these rises antagonism are stressed. on in my development, when I was placed into the “REACH’’ program at my elementrey school. It essentially separated much more than they ever did. I believe this caused me to develop an inferority complex, where I was terri ed of performing any less than perfect because I did not want to be looked down upon or perfectionism on classroom engagement in chinese colleges, it was found that maldaptive perfectionism correlated with classroom. I cannot deny that my perfectionism did bene t my grades, but it was imensely bad for my mental health, and if expectations for themselves and also remain optimistic in the face of adversity. Not only are they reported to have higher grades, but they also have better between maladaptive and adaptive perfectionism. Certi ed Life Coach Kamini Wood believes in nding what motivates you and using that goal as perfectionist ruminations, as they help identify perfectionistic judgments, and allow you to gure out ways to combat these thoughts. Once I started to view