I am definitely a perfectionist. I've been a perfectionist all my life, although I never really thought about that label much until recently--until I started considering how much it can get in the way. For me it can show up as the desire to write the perfect article, complete the perfect project, handle a sticky situation flawlessly, look as best as I can when I go out, or take the perfect picture. I am happy to say, that perfectionism has never ultimately kept me from doing what I want to do. I have found a way to break through each time I've been caught in that state of non-doing, because I've been afraid of failure. This is so important, because each time I break through, I am telling myself that not doing whatever I want to do perfectly is not the end of the world. And failure is only how I define it. In some ways, perfectionism has been a good strategy for me. It means that I don't settle for less very easily, so I usually end up pretty happy with my results. But there's a down side too. It means that I can be hard on myself. And that I often wonder if I could have done even better. But maybe worst of all is the realization that being a perfectionist can actually make everything worse!!! Isn't that horrible? To think that you are putting in all this perfectionistic effort, even when it means being hard on yourself, and instead of getting the perfect outcome, it may actually be sub-par? Worse than what it would be if you hadn't tried so hard at all??? The first time I heard that, my reaction was--Seriously? No! But then I started reading and learning more about perfectionism, and now I believe this is true! Having high standards can get us closer to perfection, but there is definitely a line that can be crossed where these thoughts and behaviors lead to dangerously perfect and are not serving us.