Islam encourages healthy, self-actualizing individuals striving
for excellence; but discourages neurotic, obsessive pre-occupation with
perfection.
Three components
of perfectionism:
1. self-oriented - unrealistic
standards for self
2. other-oriented -
unrealistic standards directed towards others
3. socially prescribed - belief that others have perfectionistic
expectations for one’s self
Perfectionistic attitudes set in motion a vicious cycle… both for themselves and others
- perfectionists set unreachable goals
- they fail to meet these goals because the goals were impossible to begin with. Failure to reach them was thus inevitable.
- the constant pressure to achieve perfection and the inevitable chronic failure reduce productivity and effectiveness. Wise are the words that it is better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.
- this cycle leads perfectionists to be self-critical and self-blaming which results in lower self-esteem. It may also lead to anxiety and depression.
Perfectionistic attitudes set in motion a vicious cycle… both for themselves and others
- perfectionists set unreachable goals
- they fail to meet these goals because the goals were impossible to begin with. Failure to reach them was thus inevitable.
- the constant pressure to achieve perfection and the inevitable chronic failure reduce productivity and effectiveness. Wise are the words that it is better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.
- this cycle leads perfectionists to be self-critical and self-blaming which results in lower self-esteem. It may also lead to anxiety and depression.
No
matter what you attempt it is never “GOOD ENOUGH” to meet your own expectation
or the presumed expectation of others. Perfectionism takes a great toll and
perfectionists are likely to experience decreased productivity, impaired
health, troubled interpersonal relationships, and low self-esteem.