Traits of perfectionist people

Perfection is defined in the RAE as the quality of perfect. In turn, that which is perfect is that which has the highest possible degree of goodness or excellence or which has the maximum degree of a certain quality or defect. But does perfection really exist? What are people like who are in constant search for perfection, that is, perfectionists?

In general, they are people who want everything to be good, orderly and clean, making an effort to do so. In this sense, they are constant and show a great sense of responsibility. Furthermore, they want the tasks to always be well developed; They are self-demanding people who find it difficult to delegate. They even border on slightly more obsessive traits. Get to know some of its most characteristic features, here!

Traits of perfectionist people

Perfectionist people should not be confused with those who suffer from obsessive personality disorder (PD)., although they share many characteristics (the need for order and control, perfectionism, etc.). In the case of PD, we are talking about a disorder that affects the basic personality and that truly interferes with the well-being and functioning of the person.

On the other hand, when we talk about someone who is a perfectionist, we are simply referring to someone who has a way of being of this type, but it is not considered, by any means, a disorder. We leave you some of the psychological traits of this second group, perfectionist people.

Marked self-criticism

One of the traits of perfectionist people is a marked self-criticism towards many of their actions and results. Besides, may tend toward negative self-evaluation, and they are very demanding of themselves. Their fear of failure can lead them to this type of self-evaluation and criticism.

High demand

Perfectionist people mentally set almost unattainable standards of perfection; In other words, they are very demanding people with themselves. If they do not reach these standards, they may become frustrated and feel very bad, since they always aspire to optimal performance.. Furthermore, when they achieve their achievements, they may tend to minimize them and are already considering how to overcome them.

Difficulties delegating

They are people who find it very difficult to delegate; That is, their standards are so high that they do not trust anyone to do tasks in the same way (or with the same demand). They are “afraid” that others do not perform tasks as well as they do., and that is why they prefer to take on more responsibilities and burden than they can really bear. In many cases, they do it motivated by the fear that others will not show the interest or obtain as good results as them.

We can easily see this in group work, for example; There is always the typical one who takes on more of the burden, who fears that his colleagues will not meet deadlines and who ends up truly bitter about what he thinks is missing. It is not that perfectionist people are paranoid and do not trust others “just like that”, but rather They desperately seek perfection and are afraid that others are not up to par (but more because of their own self-demand than anything else)..

Dichotomous thinking

They may also present a cognitive distortion called dichotomous thinking; We have all been victims of it at some point, eliminating the continuum that separates two extremes and taking a dimension as polarized that in reality is not. This distortion was made known by the American psychiatrist Aaron Beck in 1967. Beck initially proposed 6 types of distortions, but later, in 1979, he and his colleagues expanded them to a total of 11.

Returning to perfectionist people, through this type of thinking, they believe that their successes “are or they are not”, just like their failures. So, The self-assessment they make about their achievements is based on this type of thinking.which can make them think that an error in a specific area is a global error (another cognitive distortion also appears here, overgeneralization).

Need for order and control

Another trait of perfectionist people is the need to have everything under control. They are lovers of order (not only on a physical level, but also in a mental sense). That is to say, A perfectionist person can seek a lot of “mental” order and have everything under control., but be messy with her things, for example. Thus, control and order often go hand in hand in this type of people.

In this sense, they are people who They prefer the planned and predictable to the unpredictable or spontaneous. This is because it is difficult for them to live with the uncertainty that the product or the consequence of all the chaos entails.

Emphasis of responsibility

They are very responsible people, especially in the work or academic field. Thus, they put a lot of effort into everything they do in these fields, they organize themselves well and they want everything to be “perfect.” In this sense, you can trust this side of yours if you need someone who is decisive and who is truly involved in the tasks, since they take them as a true responsibility.

Mental rigidity

Another trait of perfectionist people is their mental rigidity; Thus, it is difficult for them to be flexible and broaden their perspective when they want things only one way. This is also related to the self-demand already mentioned and a marked discipline.

They are tireless in pursuing their personal goals, but find it difficult to change their focus or adapt to possible obstacles or setbacks. According to Mª Luisa Regedera, educational psychologist and director of ISEP Clinic Mallorca, “They are self-critical people and also demanding of others.rigid in thinking and understanding of life“.

Positive aspects of perfectionist people

We have seen some of the traits of perfectionist people and although it may seem that they are all “inconveniences” or weak points, the reality is that they are not: Perfectionist people have a lot of strengths. In fact, everything explained above, for example, can benefit them if the trait is only marked and not radical.

On the other hand, in many cases They are the wick or flame that causes certain products to improve.. The one that motivates and encourages others so that they do not settle for what they have already achieved. They especially add to a group when they are able to manage well the frustration that can occur when events do not follow exactly the course they expect or with which they would feel comfortable. On the other hand, They are usually extraordinarily reliable and hard-working.

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