Is Your Child a Perfectionist?
As a (recovering) perfectionist myself, I spent years labouring under the misapprehension that perfectionism was a ‘good’ thing. It meant I was dedicated, it meant I did a good job, it meant I was focused.
However, it also made me pretty unhappy. There’s a big difference between being a perfectionist and being a high achiever. A high achiever will enjoy learning. Typically they’ll set realistic goals, enjoy the challenge of getting there and then perhaps continue on a little further – just because they can.
A perfectionist on the other hand will set themselves entirely unrealistic goals, fail to enjoy the challenge of trying to get there (because they’re so scared of failing) and then beat themselves up because they didn’t make the unrealistic target that they set themselves. For a perfectionist – ‘good’ simply isn’t ever good enough.
Plus, because ‘good’ isn’t good enough; perfectionists will often suffer from a sort of paralysis when it comes to starting tasks. Their fear of failure can become so strong that it literally prevents a perfectionist from even trying.
So, is your child a perfectionist? Do the following traits sound familiar?
