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Arun is describing almost every flaw a human being can have and wrapping it all in what he calls perfectionism. A good way to see if the scenarios he paints qua

by soheil 5y ago

Arun is describing almost every flaw a human being can have and wrapping it all in what he calls perfectionism. A good way to see if the scenarios he paints qualify you can just ask the question, if I did those things differently would I then be less of a perfectionist? I'm not sure the answer is an emphatic yes.

akprasad 5y ago
I use the term "perfectionism" to describe the space of behaviors around the traditional description. Like any generalization it can be expanded so much that it includes everything. But what separates perfectionism from normal fallibility, to me, is the degree of identity investment in the outcome. Disappointment per se is not perfectionism. What makes it a tendency worth naming is the intensity of mental stress and self-recrimination that follows.
- soheil 5y ago
  I don't disagree that any clearly defined tendency that causes intense mental stress and self-recrimination would be worth naming. It seems to me a lot of various behavior can lead to or stem from "identity investment" in the outcome and therefore be called perfectionism.
raziel2701 5y ago
I disagree, I can think of a whole lot of other human flaws that don't fit under the umbrella of perfectionism the author describes. Narcissism, hypocrisy, abuse, violence, anger-issues, being Scottish, etc. Fear of failure/uncertainty seems to be a common thread under the umbrella of perfectionism, as well as an inability to really see ourselves and our conditions for what they really are. As I was reading the article there were sentences where how I view myself and the reality clashed and it elicited a familiar feeling of avoidance and discomfort. I am not that biased towards action as I'd like to believe. Let me hide from that ugly truth.
- soheil 5y ago
  I just think that if you dig one level deep you'll find the root cause is the same. If someone's narcissistic they're doing that probably because they have a certain self-image that is all tied up to their self-worth that they want to preserve. It's all about you at the end.

by soheil 5y ago

akprasad 5y ago

I use the term "perfectionism" to describe the space of behaviors around the traditional description. Like any generalization it can be expanded so much that it includes everything. But what separates perfectionism from normal fallibility, to me, is the degree of identity investment in the outcome. Disappointment per se is not perfectionism. What makes it a tendency worth naming is the intensity of mental stress and self-recrimination that follows.

soheil 5y ago
I don't disagree that any clearly defined tendency that causes intense mental stress and self-recrimination would be worth naming. It seems to me a lot of various behavior can lead to or stem from "identity investment" in the outcome and therefore be called perfectionism.

raziel2701 5y ago

I disagree, I can think of a whole lot of other human flaws that don't fit under the umbrella of perfectionism the author describes. Narcissism, hypocrisy, abuse, violence, anger-issues, being Scottish, etc. Fear of failure/uncertainty seems to be a common thread under the umbrella of perfectionism, as well as an inability to really see ourselves and our conditions for what they really are. As I was reading the article there were sentences where how I view myself and the reality clashed and it elicited a familiar feeling of avoidance and discomfort. I am not that biased towards action as I'd like to believe. Let me hide from that ugly truth.

soheil 5y ago
I just think that if you dig one level deep you'll find the root cause is the same. If someone's narcissistic they're doing that probably because they have a certain self-image that is all tied up to their self-worth that they want to preserve. It's all about you at the end.