Do you look at your dream and feel that you don't quite measure up? Is your inner nag always finding something to pick apart about your projects? Don't worry, you aren't alone. You probably have a case of the latest bug going around, a debilitating condition that I term: Perfectionitis.
How can wanting to "be the best you can be" be a disease? Sorry. It's a trap. That's why this disorder is so troubling. You just want to do a perfect job, be a perfect person. Sure. Point well taken. The only problem is . . . there ain't no such thing as perfection. Excellence, yes. Perfection, no. Perfection is a fantasy, and unfortunately most Americans have bought into it. Perfectionitis is a modern-day epidemic-that it falls in the category of ailment rather than annoyance.
Does an inflamed obsession to achieve an abstract standard of saintly flawlessness in every part, element, and quality of you sound familiar? You impair your normal state--the healthy, joyous expression of the true you--and impair your life when you try to push yourself to be perfect. Just like any ailment, perfectionism is destructive and it needs treatment.
Perfectionitis: What the Heck Is It?
Perfectionitis is what happens when your internal "should" muscle becomes inflamed. It shifts you into an abnormal state, a crazy condition of self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors that makes you hurl yourself towards unrealistic goals. If you have a case of Perfectionitis, your You-ville Criticism Committee has gone berserk. They have flipped into a perpetual carp that you could look, do, and be . . . better. I know. I have a pretty good case of it myself. I once caught myself criticizing myself for the way I opened a door. Sad but true.
You try to shut down the Crit Com in your head by proving how really, really super good you are. You are determined to be flawless. Unfortunately, it's impossible to convince the panel of judges sitting on your inner Committee. (They know your flaws all too well. Like how you fudged your last sick day, so instead you long to impress other people so they'll give you positive strokes. Looking good to others becomes a salve to soothe the harshness of what goes on in your head.
Signs and Symptoms: The Overs
Perfectionitis pushes you into the Overs. Overs? Yep. Overachieve: you can never be ordinary, you need a consummate success. Overload: you pile three days' worth of stuff into one day's schedule. Overkill: instead of simply doing your best, you obsess on doing every minute detail impeccably. Overwhelm: you feel defeated because you can never complete the endless tasks you set for yourself. Box: Feel over the edge? Check the Overs. Overachieve, Overload, Overkill, Overwhelm.
Strange as it seems, Perfectionitis also sets you up for procrastination. Why? Some people are paralyzed by not wanting to make a mistake, get it wrong, look stupid, or, heaven forbid . . . fail. You postpone starting because you don't want to risk not meeting your own impossibly high standards. If you can never do it well enough, why do it anyway? Box: Perfectionism leads to procrastination and panic.
Sometimes Perfectionitis settles in one particular part of your life--work or cleaning or exercise or shopping or volunteering (whatever is your perfectionism of choice). But other parts of your life suffer anyway because you are pretty dang . . . well, obsessive about that one part, and don't give the rest enough attention. Any way you look at it, Perfectionitis louses up your life.
Telltale Indications: How the Heck Can I Tell If I Have It?
If you answered yes to more than three of these questions, you have a case of Perfectionitis.
How has Perfectionitis affected your life?
You can receive notice of my blogs by checking Become a Fan at the top. Ask Eli a question at info@elidavidson.com or go to www.elidavidson.com today.
Eli Davidson is a nationally recognized motivational speaker and executive coach. Her book, "Funky to Fabulous: Surefire Success Stories for the Savvy, Sassy and Swamped", (Oak Grove Publishing) has won three national book awards. Eli is a reinvention catalyst, who can transform your professional and personal life from Funky to Fabulous with her ten, trademarked Turnaround Techniques that create rapid and remarkable results. Check out her blog at http://funkytofabulous.blogspot.com/
*Follow HuffPostLiving on Twitter and become a fan of Huffington Post Living on Facebook*