Perfectionism: Friend or Foe?

Any athlete or dancer knows that excellence requires passion, perseverance, and a lot of hard work. This work includes rigorous self-evaluation as well as assessments from coaches, teachers, parents, and from the outcome of competitions and performances. An athlete cannot escape being judged continually.

Rigorous self-evaluative processes begin for athletes and artists at an early age long before personality development is complete. Much of my research focused on how immersive, competitive environments affect young athletes and dancers. I sought the factors that helped or hindered the development of a healthy, resilient outlook that could take a young athlete successfully into a professional career without falling prey to self-damaging behaviors or emotions.

My conclusions are too lengthy for the scope of a blog article, so I will focus on one key factor today: perfectionism. Not all researchers agree on terminology, or whether or not there is such a thing as "healthy" perfectionism, because perfection tends to be expressed in terms of absolutes. Despite this ongoing debate on terminology, for ease of discussion, I will describe two types of perfectionism: maladaptive and adaptive. Or, we could use the terms offered by Carol Dweck: Fixed or Growth mindsets.

The maladaptive perfectionist seeks absolute flawlessness at all times. His or her inner voice speaks in terms of “all” or “never.” This black-or-white thinking cannot acknowledge gradients of progress. Their inner voice tends toward tyrannical self-criticism, constant rumination over flaws, and continual fear of not being good enough. Disappointments are catastrophized because the individual believes he or she has failed. Success is thought of as all or nothing.

The adaptive perfectionist seeks personal excellence and growth. His or her inner voice speaks in terms of “yet.” This means there is room for improvement and change; varying degrees of progress or success are acknowledged throughout training. Their inner voice tends toward self-mentorship, is realistic about features and flaws, and focuses on the continued growth of skills. Disappointment can be managed because the adaptive individual believes that with further effort, improvement and success will come. Success is thought of as incremental.

It is essential to listen to young athletes, to listen to the content of their self-evaluations, and to systematically foster a growth rather than a fixed mindset from the very onset of their training forward. It is equally essential for parents, teachers, and coaches to use growth-oriented speech, not engage in fixed-trait praise, or speak only in terms of absolutes.

Adaptive perfectionism can offer tremendous intrinsic satisfaction. Those athletes with an adaptive, growth-oriented mindset often take great pleasure in their hard work and are resilient and optimistic about their futures. Maladaptive perfectionism, or a fixed mindset, when left unchecked, can thwart a young athlete’s best efforts. It can manifest as over-training, burnout, high performance anxiety, eating disorders, addictions, or self-harm. Maladaptive perfectionism can destroy lives.

I want to help you live the life of your dreams. Email me at lifeview4me@gmail.com, visit my website www.lifeview4me.com, or call or text 830 955-7500

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