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> The first is that perfection & progress is much like driving late at night with headlights. You will only be able to see as far as your headlights allow.

that's all you need to drive ar night though (and driving in general)

if you drive looking around you, you can become a danger for yourself and others.

What I mean is that perfectionism is doing things the right way and make the best out of the limits you encounter.

I feel like many confuse perfectionism with obsession.

Perfectionism = not bad

Obsession = bad




> perfectionism is doing things the right way and make the best out of the limits you encounter.

My dictionary defines perfectionist as “a person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection”. That is the standard definition you will find most people understand as the meaning of the word. For more precise use in a technical context, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfectionism_(psychology)

>> Perfectionists strain compulsively and unceasingly toward unattainable goals, and measure their self-worth by productivity and accomplishment. Pressuring oneself to achieve unrealistic goals inevitably sets the person up for disappointment. Perfectionists tend to be harsh critics of themselves when they fail to meet their expectations. [...]

>> Perfectionism can be damaging. It can take the form of procrastination when used to postpone tasks and self-deprecation when used to excuse poor performance or to seek sympathy and affirmation from other people. These, together or separate, are self-handicapping strategies perfectionists may use to protect their sense of self-competence. In general, perfectionists feel constant pressure to meet their high expectations, which creates cognitive dissonance when expectations cannot be met. Perfectionism has been associated with numerous other psychological and physiological complications. Moreover, perfectionism may result in alienation and social disconnection via certain rigid interpersonal patterns common to perfectionistic individuals.

“Doing things the right way” is an idiosyncratic personal definition. You should find a different word for this if you want people to understand you. Or perhaps you could use “competence”, “proficiency”, “fastidiousness”, “judiciousness”, “practicality”, “adaptability”, “success”, or some other existing word, depending on the context.


"I feel like many confuse perfectionism with obsession.

Perfectionism = not bad

Obsession = bad "

It just depends how you define terms. What most people here mean with perfectionism, would be probably a obsession with perfectionism under your terms.

I am also fine with my perfectionism, after I learned the concept of "good enough".


> It just depends how you define terms

It only depends on where you are in the spectrum

Everyone is a perfectionist in something, but only someone is obsessed with perfectionism to the point it becomes bad for you.

That's what usually people think about when they talk about perfectionism, but that's the worst case scenario.


> perfectionism is doing things the right way and make the best out of the limits you encounter

This is 'being a reasonable homo sapiens'. Perfectionism is having absurd expectations and refusing to do anything unless they're met.




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