Signs You Are A Perfectionist

1. You have high expectations of yourself and others.

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If you expect perfection from both yourself and those around you, you’re probably a perfectionist. You might exhibit this quality at work, school, or around your home. If your personal expectations aren’t met, you tend to feel disappointed or upset.

2. You feel stressed if things are not done “the right way”.

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Similar to our previous point, you often feel stressed or anxious if your standards aren’t met. Maybe your partner didn’t wash the dishes thoroughly, or maybe your child didn’t clean their room well enough. If it’s not done right, you have to go back and fix it.

3. You have trouble delegating tasks to others.

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Delegating tasks to other people makes you feel stressed because you’re not sure they’re going to complete the job correctly. You need to be in control because you feel like only you can do the task right. Unfortunately, this only creates more work for yourself.

4. You often spend a lot of time on tasks.

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It takes you a long time to complete tasks, even if they’re small or trivial. This is because you want to make sure the end result is as perfect as possible. Sometimes, you even miss deadlines or end up late to your commitments because you have trouble stepping away.

5. You are very self-critical.

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Your inner voice isn’t very kind and focuses more on your mistakes rather than your accomplishments and successes. You tend to criticize all of the small imperfections that occurred, even if you did a great job with the end result. Sometimes, this criticism even extends to others.

6. You procrastinate.

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Even when you have a deadline looming, you procrastinate tasks because you’re so worried that you’re going to make a mistake or not be able to meet your own standards. Then, after procrastinating for a long while, you have to rush to complete the task at hand.

7. You avoid trying new things.

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You’re so afraid of failure, embarrassing yourself, or being bad at something that you avoid trying new things. You let fear rule the way you live, especially when there’s a chance that your skills won’t be up to snuff. Ultimately, you’d rather sit out the activity.

8. You have a hard time accepting praise or compliments.

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You feel awkward when people compliment your work or abilities because you always feel like you could have done better. It’s hard for you to see yourself in a positive light. Instead, your mistakes and struggles always take center stage in your mind.

9. You can be critical of other people.

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In the same way that you’re critical of yourself, you also have a tendency to be critical of other people. Instead of focusing on their strengths, you focus on their mistakes. In fact, this has been in a problem in both your friendships and relationships.

10. You have trouble celebrating your accomplishments.

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Success feels great, but you have a very quick rebound rate. You rarely let yourself enjoy your accomplishments because there’s always more to do and achieve. If you don’t continue to strive for perfection, you start to feel stressed and overwhelmed.

11. You have a hard time making decisions.

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Are you indecisive? Do you often suffer from decision paralysis? This is a telltale sign of a perfectionist. That’s because you want everything to be perfect, and you’re terrified of making the wrong decision. Instead, you put off decisions until the very last minute.

12. You have a tendency to micromanage.

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You want things done a certain way, and because of this, you often micromanage the work of others. You follow their tasks and responsibilities closely to make sure they’re doing everything exactly right. This might even be an issue for you in the workplace.

13. You are a workaholic.

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Being a workaholic and a perfectionist go hand in hand. Oftentimes, workaholics have trouble taking breaks and stepping away from their career because they feel like there’s always more to do and accomplish. If you can relate to this, you’re probably a perfectionist.

14. You tend to be very detail-oriented.

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The big picture is difficult for you to grasp. Instead, you zero in on the small details and obsess over them until they’re perfect. The catch is, those small details are never quite up to your standards. You work on them until you’re forced to step away.

15. If you make a mistake, you feel shame.

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Mistakes are hard for you to swallow. You know that human beings are prone to error, but you hold yourself to a higher standard than that. You feel shame and guilt when you do something incorrectly, and you obsess over how to fix the mistake as soon as possible.

16. You’re a people-pleaser.

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Are you a people pleaser? Do you have trouble saying no because you want to make everyone happy and appear perfect to those around you? This is another sign of perfectionism. Perfectionists hate drawing boundaries, saying no, and letting others down.

17. You have difficulty prioritizing tasks.

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In the workplace and at home, you have trouble prioritizing tasks because you want to work on everything simultaneously and get it all done. Oftentimes, this results in not getting anything done at all! As a consequence, you feel stressed and anxious.

18. It’s hard for you to accept constructive criticism.

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Constructive criticism feels more like an attack than helpful feedback. This is because you feel like you should have already known how to do it perfectly. Being told how to improve your quality of work or behavior, even in a gentle way, makes you feel ashamed.

19. You have a hard time asking for help.

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You feel like you should be able to do everything on your own. You strive to be independent, self-reliant, and able to achieve perfection without assistance from anyone else. You also worry that your helper wouldn’t meet your standards and you’d have to correct their work.

20. You have trouble accepting setbacks.

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You see your failures as a direct reflection of your worth. If you failed, that means you’re unworthy. This isn’t true, of course, but it’s what you truly believe. Because of this, it’s hard to accept your failures as part of your journey. Instead, they feel like the end of everything.

21. You have a hard time celebrating the success of others.

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Celebrating the success of others is difficult for you because in the back of your mind, you feel like you could’ve done better than them. You’ve always thought of at least half a dozen things you could have improved, and it's hard for you to focus on anything else.

22. You have trouble finishing projects.

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It takes you much longer than necessary to complete projects because you go back to them again and again to make them better. In fact, you sometimes miss deadlines completely because you keep returning to projects to make sure they’re as perfect as possible.

23. You have a hard time enjoying the moment.

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There’s always more to do and more to accomplish, so you have a hard time enjoying the present moment. You might physically be somewhere, but your mind is often elsewhere. You’re always thinking three or four steps ahead and brainstorming how to achieve more.

24. You have trouble being spontaneous.

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Spontaneity is not your thing. That’s because you’re a planner and you need to prepare in advance for every possible scenario. When people ask you to do spontaneous things, you usually turn them down and choose something safe and comfortable instead.

25. You have trouble accepting imperfections.

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It’s not only difficult to accept your personal imperfections. It’s also hard to accept the imperfections of others. This takes a toll on your personal friendships and relationships because your loved ones often feel like they’re not good enough to meet your standards.

26. You overthink things.

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You worry about every possible outcome that could possibly happen. You try to prepare in advance for all possible scenarios, which causes you to overthink. This also means you have trouble going with the flow and being flexible. Your mind is always in overdrive.

27. You have trouble being flexible.

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To expand on our previous point, going with the flow is hard for you. You like to have a set plan and stable routine, so flexibility doesn’t feel natural or comfortable. If your plans go awry or get thrown off in some way, you feel stressed and anxious.

28. You feel defensive when people offer feedback.

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When people offer feedback on your work or actions, you feel defensive. Even if it’s brought up in a kind or constructive way, you tend to feel offended. This is because you’re proud of the quality of your work, and you feel attacked when that quality is questioned.

29. You have a hard time taking breaks.

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Taking breaks and relaxing is nearly impossible for you to do because you feel like you’re wasting precious time. You find yourself thinking about what you could be doing instead of resting, so even though your body is standing still, your mind is racing.

30. You’re guilty of all or nothing thinking.

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You set extremely high goals for yourself. It’s not enough for you to simply do a great job and accomplish something wonderful. The only thing you will accept is absolute perfection. Even getting close to perfection is perceived as a failure in your mind.