Question: Is it bad or good to be a Perfectionist?

Rocio: “The mind of a perfectionist is always in pain.” Being a perfectionist leads to self doubt and self judgment. Nothing is ever good enough… or at least that’s the way that a perfectionist may think. They always want anything they come across to be “perfect”, which is not necessarily possible. Everyone has a different perspective on what perfect is. Let’s say that a perfectionist is passionate about photography. No matter how many times people may tell that her photograph looks “good”, the perfectionist will see flaws in her own work.

Your views on perfection and how you define what being perfect is affects who you surround yourself with. Since a perfectionist wants everything to be “perfect” this may lead them to be more hard on the people that surround them. Not wanting to talk to certain people because they have standards. But some may argue that being a perfectionist is moderately good because it helps you be aware of yourself and challenge yourself. I think that being a perfectionist puts you in a lot of pain, not physically but mentally and emotionally, which can lead you to become stressed. Since nothing ever lives up to their standards, it leads them to be in an unhealthy state of mind. Nothing is ever going to make them happy and they will always find something negative in everything they see and or do. A perfectionist will not feel successful, but instead unsuccessful.

Sielina: The mind of a perfectionist is the most terrifying and magnificent existent part of a human. This might sound contradictory, however if seen through the right eyes it means so much more, just like another dimension of the world that is nearly identical to this one but different if shocking ways.

Being a perfectionist is not necessarily a bad thing. It is only a bad thing when the mind of a perfectionist is penetrated by the negativity in which they are surrounded by. A perfectionist mindset can lead to a more organized, successful, and positive life in so many ways. Perfectionists have different aims concerning what they want to “perfect.” It varies from having an organized closet to drawing a line on a canvas. They have the tendency to be great at the things that most interest them. Trying to make their creations one of the grandest things they produce is a challenge because they think there is always room for better. Their thirst for the extraordinary comes from their hope and determination to demonstrate that what they are capable of is so much more than something that gets overlooked. The thought pushes them to keep going, to not give up.

The perfectionist keeps going no matter what. It is healthy to know that you do not have to give up and that you can always strive to get where you most desire. A mind that can keep wandering higher is a mind that gets through the tragedies of this place.

– Rocio Garcia & Sielina Castillo