perfectionism and - Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation

The cost of perfectionism
• Think about that same example, but now focus
on the downsides
– What happened that you didn’t like
– How much time did you spend on it
– What other things got neglected or pushed aside
while you were working on this
– How did it feel
– How did it impact other people, especially those
closest to you
– What did it make you think about yourself
1. Cost-bene0it ratio
• Thinking of the payoffs and the costs, which
one do you experience more often
– Do the payoffs happen more than the costs
– Do you spend more time dealing with costs than
basking in the glory of payoffs
• Regardless of your ratio, ask yourself “How
satisHied am I with this ratio”
– What area of perfectionism are you most
dissatis7ied
2. “Finding” lost successes
• A story from the pharmaceutical world…
• Striving to achieve a goal through
perfectionism may blind you to valuable
information or perhaps other successes!
– Tunnel vision
• Broadening your scope can help you
immediately catch missed opportunities to
feel satis7ied, competent, and proud.
3. Perfectionism as a habit
• “I don’t know another way”
• Trying to achieve perfection has known
outcome (your payoff-­‐cost ratio)
• What’s the outcome when you try to be
“high average” or “80% perfect”
– We can only 7ind out by experimenting
• If it feels “wrong” or “different” it’s working!
-157-