“Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest”- Dr. Anne Wilson Schaef

The irony about perfectionism is that an attitude to do something as well as possible  will make you fall short of the mark, both in terms of while you’re doing it and in terms of your ultimate development.

This is because taking risks and making mistakes are vital elements of growth, you’ve got to reach beyond yourself and your current capabilities if you want to get better. Reaching beyond yourself means sometimes falling flat on your face. Making mistakes and falling flat on your face are exactly what is unliking to the perfectionistic attitude. Any signs of failure, of coming up short, are grounds for recrimination and self-doubt. If it’s not perfect it’s not good enough, so you’re going to put checks on the very risk taking behaviors that will help you improve.

In terms of the zone of proximal development, the best way to improve at anything is to ride that edge between the difficulty of what you’re doing and your current level of ability. You want your tasks to be challenging but doable, which means succeeding sometimes but also failing sometimes. The perfectionistic attitude necessarily holds you back from that edge, keeping you within your comfort zone where you can cultivate the appearance of doing it perfectly because it’s not that hard for you. Really it’s only perfect at a lower level of development, not close to what you could eventually be capable of if you were riding your edge and pushing yourself to get better.

VISMAYA K