Indeed, the anti-perfectionist tone is the standard.

So we write them off as neurotics in order to go about our mediocre ways. The fact is that perfectionists raise the bar of expectations, and without them around things are a lot easier. It turns out that the reason we as a culture so criticize perfectionism and try to diminish it is not for the sanity of the perfectionist–it’s for the leisure of the rest of us. Shouldn’t we encourage these qualities in everyone? So what if they come with a dash of OCD and mania? Having everything right all the time is stressful for everyone, and so the simple solution is to get rid of perfectionism.īut should we be so fearful of perfectionism and perfectionists? By nature, perfectionists are hard workers who maintain very lofty goals. The reason, of course, is that perfectionism is hard–for the perfectionist, to be sure, but also for those around the perfectionist.

Why would the EI people suggest that successful people aren’t perfectionists when it’s clear that at least some exude the trait? And, if you ask them, their success is largely dependent upon their drive for perfection. These kinds of people are extremely talented and extremely successful. Think about celebrity perfectionists–Steve Jobs, John Lasseter, Serena Williams. It struck me as odd primarily because I can think of a dozen perfectionists off the top of my head–and they are all successful. When perfection is your goal, you’re always left with a nagging sense of failure.” And, with a single short paragraph, they write off perfection as something that no successful person would even consider. “Human beings,” they say, “by our very nature, are fallible. As could be expected, one of the items was that they won’t “prioritize perfection”. Recently, the people at Emotional Intelligence 2.0 posted about the 9 Things Successful People Won’t Do. Five Reasons to Embrace Your Inner Perfectionist

Human fall flat perfectionist