There’s a lot of pressure at college, especially with higher academic standards to uphold while living away from the comforts of home.
Sadly, that pressure can turn your pursuit of excellence into suffering from perfectionism, holding yourself to unrealistic standards at the cost of your overall well-being.
Perfectionism is a danger you must avoid, and this article will tell you everything you need to know to do just that.
Do You Experience Perfectionism?
Perfectionism is when you set unrealistic standards and punish yourself for failing to reach them.
But here’s the thing about perfectionism: it’s easily mistaken for the pursuit of excellence, preventing some students from even realizing what’s holding them back.
Take a moment to reflect and ask yourself a few questions:
- Are the goals you set for yourself unrealistic?
- Do you criticize yourself harshly when you don’t meet those goals?
- Are you only focusing on the end result and not the process?
- Do you fear failure too much?
- Do you behave in extremes, either towards overworking or towards procrastinating?
Asking yourself these questions regularly can help you determine if you’re leaning too much toward perfectionism. If you are, you can stop it from getting out of control.
How Perfectionism Holds You Back
Holding yourself to extremely high standards might work in the short term, but it will only give you short-lived success at the cost of your long-term potential.
Research shows that college students with perfectionist tendencies are prone to anxiety and depressive symptoms and experience less happiness overall. Worse yet, these problems persist throughout the academic year and even over the holidays, affecting students’ ability to perform at high levels (Newman et al., 2019).
Thankfully, there are several steps you can take by yourself or with others to avoid the problem of perfectionism while you’re in college.
4 Ways To Avoid Perfectionism In College
Perfectionism is a problem that can sneak up on you if you don’t recognize it early. So, take these four steps to avoid it so you can pursue excellence in college unhindered:
Practice Self-Awareness
As you saw earlier, a little self-awareness goes a long way. Writing in a journal is incredibly helpful, as it helps you process your thoughts and get them out on paper.
Manage Expectations
Next, manage your expectations by ensuring that your academic goals don’t come at the cost of neglecting your mental and physical well-being.
You can still do your best while enjoying extracurriculars and an active social life!
Get A Second Opinion
An outside perspective is priceless. Speak to your closest peers to see what they think about your approach to college.
Seek Professional Help
Remember, there’s no shame in seeking professional help. Even world-class athletes have coaches and consultants! In addition, college campuses have resources on-site to provide support.
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Reference
Newman, B. N., Strickler, J. G., O’Brien, C., Lui, T., & Lynch, M. (2019). Deconstructing perfectionism in college students: Patterns of behavior, emotion, and cognition. Personality and Individual Differences, 145, 106–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.03.030