Seek Daily Improvement Instead of Perfect Performance

""Have no fear of perfection-you'll never reach it." Great observation by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí. Unfortunately, many people in today's world haven't figured that out. The pursuit of perfection is a common pitfall of many performing artists, athletes, coaches, instructors, and parents. It's a trap with razor-sharp teeth that will shred your psyche with stress and pressure guaranteed to disrupt athletic and other performance efforts."

"As renowned psychologist David Burns aptly expressed it, "Perfection is man's ultimate illusion. It simply doesn't exist in the universe. If you are a perfectionist, you are guaranteed to be a loser in whatever you do." Despite the impossibility of reaching perfect performance, so many young people suffer when their performance falls short of perfection due to being admonished by coaches, instructors, parents, peers, and themselves based on their totally unrealistic expectations."

"Attend any youth or high school sporting event, and you're bound to witness total meltdowns of athletes, coaches, parents, and fans when things don't go their way. Coaches screaming when an athlete makes a mistake. Parents going berserk when their sports prodigy child errs. The athlete hanging their head on the verge of tears after a miscue. Kids scolding a teammate when they underperform."

Perfectionistic approaches to performance produce stress, pressure, and reduced effectiveness. Coaches, instructors, parents, peers, and performers themselves often impose unrealistic expectations. Mistakes and disappointments are normal parts of any performance and should be expected. Young athletes commonly experience emotional meltdowns when held to impossible standards, including public beratement, benching after single errors, and parental shouting. Such responses amplify anxiety and impair development and enjoyment. Effective development requires acceptance of error, realistic standards, supportive coaching, and parental restraint. Reducing perfectionistic demands fosters resilience, reduces performance anxiety, and improves long-term performance and well-being.

Read at Psychology Today