Do Your Perfectionism Tendencies Hold You Back?

Generally, people who have self-oriented perfectionism have a high range of positive emotions, are highly productive, and are very organized. These people tend to have a perfectionist side that is solely a standard that they hold for themselves. They also have a sense of humor that aspires to create connection and intimacy with others. This type of perfectionism is sometimes linked to nurturing and altruism as well.

These perfectionists tend to suffer from the least amount of stress, and their perfectionism is based upon the external world and can adapt in different situations. They get disappointed, at first, if they’ve had a hiccup in something, but then they quickly regroup!

Generally, people with socially-prescribed perfectionism have a very high amount of social pressure and extrinsic motivation with productivity and success. Self-deprecating humor is often one way that a socially prescribed perfectionist copes. Because they seem to be neurotic at times, finding internal motivation and a sense of purpose could be the best way to create a new mindset.

Other-oriented perfectionism is when a perfectionist projects high standards and evaluations on other people, particularly people to whom they’re closest, such as significant others and their children. Where you put other people into different standards that are almost impossible to meet, they tend to have a passive-aggressive or sarcastic sense of humor that might not be appropriate at times. They tend to want to dominate others and not offer much help or support to them. The best thing to do is to focus on your expectations for yourself and reflect on how you can limit unreasonable expectations for others.