Academic Perfectionism Vs Healthy Challenge

Academic Perfectionism Vs Healthy Challenge. Many students have an internal drive to perform at a higher standard and get better grades. This is often labeled as perfectionism, but perfectionism is not a healthy pursuit of excellence. Those that strive for healthy goals take pleasure in trying to accomplish goals. Perfectionism results in self-doubt and fear of rejection or disapproval.

People who are perfectionists often set goals that are too high to be achievable, become overly worried about their fear of failure and disappointment, and see small mistakes in their work as evidence of unworthiness. Those that strive for healthy standards, however, set challenging but achievable goals, bounce back quickly from failure, and see mistakes in their work as opportunities to learn and grow.

Many people think that they have to be a perfectionist in order to be successful, but those perfectionists achieved success despite their unhealthy mindset. There is evidence that people that have the same talents and skills as perfectionists, but have healthier habits, perform better.

Perfectionists often also have a tendency to procrastinate and miss deadlines rather than turn in less than perfect work. Because demanding perfection is very exhausting, perfectionists quickly get overwhelmed and will miss deadlines because of this.

Perfectionists overly focus on the end result rather than the process to get there. This makes them more prone to writer’s block and performance anxiety. This will actually hinder the final goal rather than help it.

There are several strategies that students can use to help avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism.

Students should make a list of the pros and cons of trying to be perfect. This will help them see that the cons of losing mental health vastly outweigh the pros of a perfect finished product.

Students should try to increase their awareness of their overly critical perfectionist thoughts and try to replace them with positive ones. They should ask themselves if the product is good enough given the time and circumstances.

Have your student set more realistic goals for themselves. This will help them gradually realize that ‘imperfect’ results will not yield as big of consequences as they think it will. This will help them enjoy the process rather than be overly focused on the outcome.

Setting strict time limits will help students avoid the procrastination that comes with perfectionism. Students should do a task only on the established times and then move on to another activity.

Students should learn to take criticism. Perfectionists tend to get defensive at criticism. But students should realize that criticism is a way to learn and grow from their mistakes.

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