Quiz: Are you a ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ perfectionist?

perfect

Type ‘perfectionism’ into Google and you will find yourself inundated with guides to ridding yourself of its curse and studies warning that ‘refusal to accept any standard short of perfect’ is a sure-fire route to burnout.

  They’re all right, say the authors of a new report[i], which analysed over 40 scientific studies and concluded that setting consistently high goals can lead to exhaustion, anxiety and even depression. There is one caveat however. Researchers found that there is a healthier brand of perfectionism – one that reaps rewards while avoiding negative side effects. Which camp do you fall into? Take our quiz and find out.
 

1. When setting personal goals, I ensure they’re challenging but not so stretching I’m likely to fail.

Agree Disagree

2. When I witness others setting high targets, I feel compelled to aim even higher.

Agree Disagree

3. When things don’t go my way, I try to find the lesson and then move on.

Agree Disagree

4. When I am successful, the most important thing is that others recognise my accomplishments.

Agree Disagree

5. I experience personal satisfaction when I achieve a goal; it doesn’t really matter if others don’t ‘get’ it.

Agree Disagree

6. I must admit that some of the goals I set myself make me feel anxious and worried.

Agree Disagree

7. When working towards goals, I constantly re-evaluate them to ensure they’re still achievable and relevant, adjusting accordingly.

Agree Disagree

8. When things don’t go my way, I feel a sense of personal failure.

Agree Disagree

9. When stepping outside my comfort zone, I look forward to the learning process and don’t worry so much about having to excel.

Agree Disagree

10. Tweaking goals to make them more manageable leaves me feeling that I’ve failed or even ‘cheated’ in some way.

Agree Disagree

Scoring

For odd number questions, score +5 points for every question you ‘Agree’ with and -5 points for every ‘Disagree’. Score in reverse for even-numbered questions. Your final score will position you somewhere on the scale of between -50 and +50, the lower end being an extreme example of unhealthy perfectionism; the higher end demonstrative of a healthier, more productive kind. A score of around zero demonstrates that you’re exercising some elements of both healthy and unhealthy perfectionism. Work to eliminate those unhealthier behaviours.  

Understand your comfort zone and what might be keeping you “stuck”. Take the quiz in our workbook Step up! Put yourself forward at work.

Plus scores – healthy, productive perfectionism

Congratulations, you set high standards for yourself, while neatly sidestepping the negative trappings of ‘pure’ perfectionism. The key difference between the two types, say psychologists, is that the healthier kind puts greater emphasis on internal validation. The thrill of accomplishment is as great for you as the feeling that comes from external praise. You’re able to keep a cool head when goals aren’t met, using reason and logic to understand what went wrong, taking the lesson rather than resorting to self-punishment. You keep a flexible approach, understanding when goal posts have shifted, and adjusting your thinking accordingly. Your approach means you’re much less likely to suffer dark moods, dissatisfaction with your work, feelings of powerlessness and a paralysing fear of failure.  

Minus scores – unhealthy or ‘pure’ perfectionism

You’re probably already aware that your perfectionist tendencies often leave you drained, anxious and full of self-doubt. Study upon study demonstrates that those who consistently set themselves unrealistic goals are far more prone to burnout, increased levels of stress, and general dissatisfaction with themselves and their work. As you reflect on your position on the perfectionism scale, perhaps you’re also realising that when you do achieve those high standards you set for yourself, your validation tends to come from external sources. Perhaps you set more stock by a pat on the back from your boss or envy from colleagues, failing to inwardly acknowledge all your hard work.  

“Don’t let perfectionism become an excuse for never getting started.”

Marilu Henner, Actress

  As a personal challenge nears completion, you may find yourself so worn out by the process that you don’t even stop to congratulate yourself. Perhaps the main driver motivating you forwards is the stress of others coming up behind you, or maybe you inwardly reprimand yourself for a lack of progress, gradually damaging your self-esteem with every project you tick off your to-do list. On the flip side, it may even be that the fear of falling short of your own high standards has paralysed you to the point of inaction.   You can make inroads towards a healthier brand of perfectionism. It takes time, patience, and, above all else, giving yourself a break every now and again.
  1. Recognise your perfectionism at play. When you’re telling yourself that you’ve messed up by falling just short of an unobtainable target, remind yourself that you’re simply displaying your perfectionist tendencies.
  1. Goal planning? It’s all about shades of grey. Perfectionists often have a black and white attitude to achievement – either you’ve succeeded by completing a target, or you’ve failed by falling short, however marginally. When setting goals, think about the grey areas between complete success and complete failure. They indicate lessons learned, curveballs encountered and tricky paths navigated: how can you build on these experiences in future?
  1. Stay flexible. A perfectionist in goal mode might end up abandoning a plan because things aren’t going well, or ploughing on through to the bitter end, no longer motivated or engaged. Constantly re-evaluate your goal. Is it still relevant? If you’re veering off course, what tweaks can you make to get you back on track?
  1. Give yourself permission to mess up occasionally. Isolate tasks from your to-do list where the consequences of less than perfect execution are marginal: do you really need to agonise over that email? Will a rough and loose agenda for your next team meeting suffice every bit as much as the one you typically spend hours crafting? Don’t sweat the small stuff; make room for the tasks you’ll enjoy and really benefit from labouring over.
  1. Self-reward. Whether you’ve just smashed a long-time personal goal, or simply done all you could to get as close as possible, make time to recognise all you’ve achieved and learned along the way. Recognise that the journey is every bit as important as the destination.
  1. Keep on top of it. Avoid slipping back into old habits; regularly check in and ask yourself if your perfectionist tendencies are veering towards the unhealthy end of the scale. Dip into the exercises in the everywoman Network workbooks Smashing limiting beliefs, Boost your self-confidence and Step up! Are you ready to put yourself forward at work?, to ensure you’re challenging yourself in a positive, productive and healthy way.
  [i] Multidimensional Perfectionism and Burnout: A Meta-Analysis, by Andrew Hill and Thomas Curran, published in Personality & Social Psychology Review (July 2015)
 

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