"You'll find a plethora of articles on how it affects the individual subscriber, citing the effects of excessively high standards for oneself on one's long-term motivation, self-esteem, and passion for one's work. Those articles consistently relate this form of perfectionism back to oneself. The problem, however, is that the preoccupation with self continues with a further preoccupation with self. "How does this affect me?" is the perfectionist's seminal question."
"Self-oriented perfectionism is, at bottom, a preoccupation with status. Perfectionists are social climbers. By itself, status seeking isn't good or bad. But perfectionists crave it. Articles that address it often do so in a skittish manner, avoiding offending the perfectionistic reader. Unfortunately, by avoiding this aspect of perfectionism, the aid misses the mark, which is the perfectionist's dual need for and fear of people, their ambivalence."
Self-oriented perfectionism centers on a persistent preoccupation with status and approval that extends beyond personal standards into social standing. Perfectionists often ask "How does this affect me?" and lack concern for others, producing social self-absorption. Many perfectionists publicly claim independence while privately needing approval, creating ambivalence: a simultaneous need for and fear of people. Efforts to avoid offending perfectionistic sensibilities can obscure this status-seeking motive. That ambivalence and self-absorption can damage relationships and worsen mental health, suggesting value in exploring how perfectionism affects interpersonal dynamics and the sacrifices made for perceived status.
Read at Psychology Today
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