Perfectionism kills

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2 years ago

So... my plan was to write a technical article every other day and then randomly some thoughts. Alright but... there is life happening, too, with its demands. I got plenty of tasks done today. I am actually rather satisfied with my results, however, I also wanted to write an article about Linux. And I started. I have a paragraph and some random sentences that will become the rest of the article. But...

Nature and its beauty can often be called perfect. Or, at least, imperfectly perfect. Or was the phrase perfectly imperfect... (Picture: Unsplash)

Well, time is a limiting factor. It's past midnight here where I live. My Linux article is still unfinished. What to do? Well, I could do some rambling, have a new article just for the sake of having written something (greed speaking here). Or I could stay up late and get my proper article ready. Then I can go to bed and be ready for the next day.

Well... I tried. And I failed. Putting boundaries is not easy, especially when you have this horrible trait called perfectionism. I don't understand why some people value it. It's a negative trait - one that makes you appear very capable yet at the cost of your own sanity and often your health. From the outside it appears that everything is fine but inside there's unrest that can easily explode and turn into burnout. That's a sad outcome, yet it happens way too often.

Various gemstones (Picture: Unsplash)

I'm disappointed with myself regarding the article but I thought that at least I should pour out my thoughts to the world.

How do you relate to perfectionism? Do you deal with this curse (uuum, trait)? What do you do when your inner voice starts shouting that you're not good enough?

(my Linux article is on the way but tomorrow)

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2 years ago

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It is good to share our thoughts when we need to share them. I am unfortunately a perfectionist. I always try to make everything I do perfect and then I feel bad when it’s not possible.

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2 years ago

Yes... it's sad that we're not taught to identify what is "good enough". At what stage one is like... allowed to be satisfied with their achievements. If one thinks of, let's say, a painting, how much time should one spend drawing the eyes of a person somewhere in the distance when the main subject is what draws the attention? There is a point at which one should realise what is enough and when to go on creating a new work but... it's a difficult lesson that I haven't learned myself.

$ 0.01
2 years ago

We can say that we are not good enough because we see other people that they are doing good in their life without considering that they strugle before they achieve what they've always wanted to achieve. All it takes is to accept ourselves, our flaws, and our capabilities. Acceptance is the key. ❤

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2 years ago

Good point! When you see others having achieved more in life, insecurity and self-doubt kick in.

For example, in the academic world it's rather often that we say that we have achieved these nice new results but we never mention just how many unsuccessful attempts there are. And as you said, others come to the false conclusion that everything is flowing without any problems for the others. That sadly leads to depression and burnout at an alarming rate.

Accepting one's limitations and flaws is an important life lesson that takes ages to master.

Thanks you!

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2 years ago

Remember what John Lennon said: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

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2 years ago

Indeed... I was (overly) optimistic with what I can achieve. Yet, sometimes it's hard to predict everything that shows up on the to-do list. Thank you!

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2 years ago

No worries.

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2 years ago