The Importance Of Perfectionism

Even though he could not achieve perfection, he still sought it, as the quest to reach perfection is human

By looking at Benjamin Franklin’s use of metaphor in comparing the attempt at perfection in a human to that in an axe, it is evident that he believes perfection is a laborious task, which proves that, in explaining the difficulty of fulfillment, he is attempting to persuade people to adhere to his lifestyle, as it will produce the desired results. Benjamin Franklin, throughout his life, wrote many articles about his ideas regarding the achievement of perfection in all aspects of life. Immediately succeeding one such article, he explains the difficulty of obtaining said superiority by using the metaphor of a man grinding a speckled axe upon a stone repeatedly to make its surface flawless before conceding that an imperfect axe is easier to attain and therefore best.. To illustrate the cause of the man’s failure, Franklin says that “...this may have been the case with many who, having, for want of some such means as I employed, found the difficulty of obtaining good... have given up the struggle, and concluded that a speckled axe was best…” He states that many people who do not have the instruments for perfection that he himself wields, have found that obtaining it is too challenging, which leads to capitulation.

Perfection? Can any one person be perfect? Benjamin Franklin believed that he could accomplish this task. Benjamin Franklin was known for being a cognizant and diligent perfectionist. During his lifetime, many people were concerned with correcting themselves of any fault that they may have had. Benjamin Franklin did have an interesting way to proclaim how he, could show everyone how to be perfect. He believes that he can make himself perfect. Even though his ways of being perfect are not the same as everyone else's ideas, he still tries to show them he can be perfect. In his essay "Arriving at Perfection" Benjamin Franklin tries to tell everyone how he will be perfect and how he is going to actually accomplish this task.

Perfectionism is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct (Ayerst, Flett, & Hewitt, 2012). As cited in Ayerst, Flett and Hewitt (2012), Frost, Marten, Lahart and Rosenblate {I am working on getting access to this source} view perfectionism as a cognitive construct focused on concerns about making mistakes, posessing high standards, and doubting one’s actions. Additionally, Frost and colleagues also understood perfectionism as involving two

Perfectionism can be defined as an individual’s determination of extremely high standards of performance and behaviour. Hagen (2016) suggests that perfectionism stems from a genetic predisposition combined with environmental factors and an individual’s life experiences.

From the time children are entered into preschool, they are expected- for the most part- to do their best and be proud of it. One child’s best could be another child’s worst, and that other child’s best could be totally impossible for the first child. If everyone is doing their version of the best work possible, then could perfection ever possibly be achieved? It is a generally accepted truth that the answer to this question is an obvious and resounding no. By definition, a perfect human does not exist. However, humans are constantly striving towards this goal despite their knowing that it is impossible. The constant striving brings people closer and closer to the impossible goal but leaves them just shy of reaching it. This close-but-not-quite-there ending means a life that it is almost perfect. A life almost straight.

Do you push yourself to be the best? Do you get mad at yourself for not doing the best? Do you delay assignments till the last possible limit because of fear of rejection? Do you feel horrible when work isn’t done to your best ability of when minor failures seem like catastrophic ones? These are all signs of what is known as perfectionism (Pacht 1984). If you seem to agree with most of these things then you might be a perfectionist. According to Webster’s dictionary, it states that perfectionism is "a disposition which regards anything less than perfect, unacceptable." Many people in the world suffer from perfectionism. So is that case of Mike Bellah. His perfectionism lead him to a lifestyle where he lost

Society experienced to achieve perfection in many ways, almost since the beginning of humanity, and is almost impossible so many attempts fail and cause severe consequences. In “the perfect match” by Ken Liu, short story and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, short story. Perfection is people ignoring what really matter. People are not unique anymore because society is limiting with an idea of what is not accepted or normal is not perfect. Societies’ desire of perfection makes people go desperate and feel alone.

Striving for perfection is something that would better improve our society and really change the way we see what society is because everyone would be making an effort to really strive for the ideal world of flawlessness. Just the mere idea of getting closer to perfection is something that makes us attempt to be more perfect. In the article, “Cheaters Never Win,” Christopher Bergland, a Guinness World Record holding athlete says that, ¨yes, you want to be your absolute best and to try our hardest to win and to be thrilled if you are victorious” (Bergland 7). Bergland is trying to inform his readers that our society would be a better place because everyone is trying their best to succeed and in this case, be their most perfect self. In order for the society to reach perfection, everyone should be trying their very best in order to strive for perfection. We should all be putting forth all our effort we have in order to get just a little bit closer to the idea of perfection and flawlessness. Society would improve for the better if all individuals strived for the world of perfection because every single person would give all that they’ve got in order to make this world just a little bit more perfect. This quote from Bergland is saying that we all need to try our hardest to strive for flawlessness and that we should be thrilled if we do achieve this goal. Trying our best from the start just makes us closer to reaching perfection which allows us to have the driven passion to be

During my freshman year, what I viewed as the worst possible event happened, (PAUSE) I got a B on my report card. I know that sounds dramatic but freshman me thought my world was ending. I now know that a B is a perfectly acceptable grade and that it's not the end of the world. But this raises the question, why did I think that a B was such a bad thing? Last year I worked on figuring out why I viewed B's as a bad thing. The end result of my thinking was that I am a perfectionist. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines perfectionism as “refusal to accept any standard short of perfection.” The reach for perfection can be painful because it is often driven by both a desire to do well and a fear of the consequences of not doing well. The problem is

My client came to seek help on their perfectionism at the workplace. My client’s department chair was instructed by the principal to make copies and have the copies filled out by their co-workers within their department. My client waited for the copies but realized they were not done towards the end of the day. The copies were not made until after working hours and were given to the teachers the following day. My client did not like the way their department chair organized the paperwork. My client thought he/she could do better and more efficient with the stack of

The idea that perfectionism is a trait and also known as a characteristic of an individual, implicates that it derives from both biological and environmental. Undergraduate students tend to deal with many life stresses in university, which includes home life and student life. Most undergraduates have made a transition from college to university as well as leaving home, which can cause some insecurity but also some enthusiasm. For example, students who are more reliant on their parents are more likely to find home life stressful as well as combining it with university studies, because of the drastic transition of next stages and responsibility. This informs us that undergraduate students are more likely to have excess stressful events and also may find it hard to cope with university, Research also suggest that an individual’s personality is what would influence students coping strategies at university, ‘Adaptive perfectionistic traits are beneficial when coping with stressors’ (Schwenke 2012).

Perfectionism is when one sets very high expectations often in an “overly critical manner” (Frost, Marten, Lahart,&Rosenblate,1990).

As well as there is people who believe perfection is not attainable, there is also people who believe that it is possible to reach that, when they give everything they have. It is a much divided opinion, which will perhaps never come to one only general conclusion. To succeed in life people must always work hard and sometimes sacrifice some things they think are important, but putting them in front of another type of situations they would not be taken as a priority. The majority of these people who believe in perfection

Perfection is a deadly sickness. It is a wicked plague which clouds the mind, destroys focus, and eliminates any value you may hold for yourself. We are all told that perfectionism is, well, perfect. A flawless way to live where you make no mistakes, avoid any challenges, and are loved and cherished by everyone around you. But this cruel mindset is like a collar that chokes fun and kills passion, constricting joy and creativity in favor of the one and only best decision. The decision that will get you perfect grades, a perfect reputation, and nary an ounce of criticism. Now, while this might seem good, I can tell you for sure that it’s not. How? Because I’ve tried it.