by Stephen A. Diamond, Ph.D.

Indeed, if truth be told, without perfectionism, we would be--and already are here in America, as you may have noticed--suffering from a dearth of competency in general, a virtual epidemic of incompetence at all levels of human endeavor. How has perfectionism and its virtues come to be so devalued and vilified in our day?
 
Once upon a time perfectionism was perceived not as neurosis, but rather as a sign of commitment, caring,  and devotion to one's work, be it manual laborer, mechanic, servant, teacher, sales clerk, CEO, waitperson, chef, filmmaker, actor, screenwriter, author, architect or artist. 

The craftsman, for instance, would labor intensively over the task, lovingly tending to every detail in order to create a product of the highest possible quality, and taking considerable pride in the outcome.

Indeed, this pride in producing as perfect a piece as he or she could served not only to enhance the crafter's self-esteem and satisfy the inherent human need to create and contribute, but established and maintained his or her reputation for excellence in the public eye, hence being good for business--a very practical consequence indeed.  
 
Now I am not claiming that such craftsmanship and commitment to excellence no longer exists in our culture. Surely it does, and can be witnessed in the works of the most outstanding members of every profession, vocation, craft or art. 

But this attitude, this positive perfectionism, is in decline due, in no small part, to the denigration and devaluation of  perfectionism. 

Scratch the surface of any great artist, entrepreneur, scientist or politician, and you will likely find a perfectionist. If truth be told, it is in part their perfectionism that makes them great. 

Greatness stems from a confluence of perfectionism, talent and drivenness. 

Even in those of us with somewhat lesser degrees of the innate talent and/or drivenness inherent in the great, perfectionism can call us, if not to greatness, toward a characteristic of perhaps even greater personal and collective importance--competence.
 
Few human qualities seem more significant for sustaining  the ordinary daily flow of life than competence. For each of us has a job to do, a part to play in the world, and I can think of no higher honor or more meaningful aspiration than to fulfill that role with competence. 

To be competent, according to the Oxford American Dictionary, means "having the ability or authority to do what is required."

And, in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, competence is defined as "the quality or state of being functionally adequate or of having sufficient knowledge, judgment, skill, or strength (as for a particular duty or in a particular respect)."

Note that the definition does not refer to excellence, extraordinariness, greatness or even above-average ability, but rather specifies performance that is simply adequate and sufficient to the task at hand. 

Yet, despite the fact that the requirements for being merely competent at something are relatively modest, we appear in this country to be witnessing a marked decline in competence in recent decades. 

The negative consequences of this rising tide of incompetence on our daily lives is staggering to say the least. More obvious examples include such problems as medical malpractice, the improper manufacturing of tires, inefficiently run corporations and governmental agencies, and so forth. 

But it is by far the less glaring, more subtle manifestations of incompetence that so insidiously degrade our quality of life, contributing to the mounting  frustration, anger and even rage so ubiquitous to contemporary culture. 

The inept teacher; the careless auto mechanic; the surly, useless sales clerk, postal worker or telephone operator; the inconsiderate or abusive boss, etc. These are but a few examples of the deterioration of  basic competency in American culture. And much of it derives from a paucity of perfectionism.
 
 
Pathological vs. Positive Perfectionism

Perfectionism has, sadly, been hyperpathologized by most mental health professionals, and hence, by popular culture at large. But such unequivocal vilification is unwarranted. 

Perfectionism is, in its purest and most benevolent form, a search for beauty, truth and goodness. Perfectionism is an inner calling to find and fulfill one's destiny; to realize one's potential; to pursue vigorously one's unique vocation. According to the Oxford American Dictionary, vocation is "a feeling that one is called by God to a certain career or occupation." 

But this feeling of being "called" doesn't need to be couched in theological terms. It can be seen also as a secular calling, a strong proclivity or inclination of the self toward a particular type of work, trade or profession. 

In either case, when we, like the biblical Jonah, find the requisite courage to follow that inner "voice" of vocation, it is likely to lead us toward competency in our chosen field. 

When, on the other hand, we refuse the call, as did Jonah initially, we will likely wind up doing some kind of work about which we have no real passion. 

There is a relationship  between passion and perfectionism. Perfectionism is a form of passion. It is an expression of one's passion for a particular vocation. For balance, form, harmony and wholeness. 

When one has passion for one's work, perfectionism is the natural and normal expression of that passion. This is the positive, constructive type of perfectionism.
 
Positive perfectionism is not, as some assume, the compulsive worship of order and neatness, as we so often see in obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

This sort of pathological perfectionism is a neurotic denial of life's inherent imperfection, and a vain attempt to fend off chaos, messiness, disease, suffering, anxiety and, finally, death itself. 

Neurotic, negative or pathological  perfectionism can, in fact, impede creativity and competence. Placing unrealistic expectations and demands on one's own work or that of others is fraught with problems ranging from resentment, shame and erosion of self-esteem, to blocked creativity due to fear of producing anything less than perfect.  

In such cases, psychotherapy can be helpful in accepting and embracing life's pervasive imperfection. It is a perfectly imperfect world in which we live, inhabited by imperfect beings. 

Perfectionism, when not taken to neurotic extremes, acknowledges the inexorable reality and primacy of imperfection while at the same time heroically striving toward perfection nonetheless. 

Non-pathological or positive perfectionism accepts its human limitations and the ultimate impossibility of attaining or sustaining perfection. 

What the healthy or constructive perfectionist does is labor as passionately and perfectionistically as possible on a project, knowing all the while that he or she is destined to fail; but that despite the inevitability of failure, something good, something positive, something new, something worthwhile, something meaningful can come of the futile effort. 

And, for the healthy, positive perfectionist, this makes the frustrating, arduous and sometimes tedious journey toward certain defeat  a worthwhile and triumphant  failure. 
 
   ~ ~ ~ ~

Stephen A. Diamond, Ph.D. is a clinical and forensic psychologist practicing in Los Angeles. He is the founder of the Center for Existential Depth Psychology and the author of the book Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity (SUNY Press, 1996/99).

~ ~ ~

  related Talent Development Resources pages :

GT Adults blog gifted/talented/high ability

giftedness : articles

giftedness : books

HSP & gifted books

intensity / sensitivity

intensity / sensitivity resources : articles sites books

introversion / shyness.

introversion resources : articles  sites  books

perfectionism

~ ~ ~