Ironworks Gaming Forum - View Single Post - Perfectionism, Is it Inspiring or threatening ?

Sazerac · 10-31-2002, 01:34 PM

It's good to strive for perfection, but always remember that it is an "ideal." I would hate to be "perfect" because that would, paradoxically, be considered a static condition, and to me, perfection is constantly moving and changing; it is dynamic.

Setting one's goals high is admirable. Setting oneself up to be perfect is an exercise in futility, and can lead to low self-esteem. For example, students who I've seen kicking themselves (literally) because they made a 98 on an exam rather than 100. I pulled one off to the side and asked her one time, "What is the difference between 90 and 100?" "Ten points!" she wailed. "NO," I said, and then reiterated the question. The answer was, of course, "nothing." An "A" is an "A", whether it is a 90 or 100. By setting herself up to be perfect, she refused to allow anything other than perfection as her standard, and thereby refused to allow herself any enjoyment over any accomplishment she made, since it wasn't "perfect." Really rather sad, if you ask me.

-Sazerac

10-31-2002, 01:34 PM	#12
Sazerac Ironworks Moderator Join Date: January 7, 2001 Location: Monroe, LA Age: 61 Posts: 7,387	It's good to strive for perfection, but always remember that it is an "ideal." I would hate to be "perfect" because that would, paradoxically, be considered a static condition, and to me, perfection is constantly moving and changing; it is dynamic. Setting one's goals high is admirable. Setting oneself up to be perfect is an exercise in futility, and can lead to low self-esteem. For example, students who I've seen kicking themselves (literally) because they made a 98 on an exam rather than 100. I pulled one off to the side and asked her one time, "What is the difference between 90 and 100?" "Ten points!" she wailed. "NO," I said, and then reiterated the question. The answer was, of course, "nothing." An "A" is an "A", whether it is a 90 or 100. By setting herself up to be perfect, she refused to allow anything other than perfection as her standard, and thereby refused to allow herself any enjoyment over any accomplishment she made, since it wasn't "perfect." Really rather sad, if you ask me. -Sazerac __________________ "And all my days are trances, and all my nightly dreams, Are where thy grey eye glances, and where thy footstep gleams, In what ethereal dances, by what eternal streams..."