The prison of the perfectionist: Is it time to break those walls down?

Abstract

Academic research has found that perfectionists are much more susceptible to certain disorders and challenges when compared to non-perfectionists. While a perfectionist is someone who has no tolerance for failure and mistakes, an optimalist is more open to viewing failure as feedback and part of the process Image: Shutterstock (For illustrative purposes only)

I remember the time when I was an MBA student at IIM Ahmedabad and our seniors were coaching us for the placement interviews. We were advised that when asked about our weaknesses, we should not mention an actual weakness but use that opportunity to highlight something that was a desirable quality (by camouflaging it as a weakness). The favorite choice for most of us was, ‘I am a Perfectionist’. The prevalent thinking at that time was that claiming to be a perfectionist was actually just a modest way of claiming to be diligent, hardworking and someone who was truly in pursuit of excellence. Read more at: https://www.forbesindia.com/article/iim-bangalore/the-prison-of-the-perfectionist-is-it-time-to-break-those-walls-down/46651/1