With the Olympics dominating the news this summer, the subject of perfectionism has been coming up a lot. Here at FFS, we’re sticklers for the idea expressed in the AA slogan “Progress not perfection.” It’s one of our core beliefs and something we talk about with students frequently. We recently addressed it in a Leadership blog that focused on accepting our imperfections.

Now in another item, Gerti Schoen, MA, LP, makes a case for perfectionism being a disease. She points to our competitive, goal-driven society where everyone from marriage partners to movie stars are compelled to go for the gold and where failure is not an option. She says, “We can observe the cycle of high expectations leading to failure and shame practically every day in the media.”  The result is a lot of anxiety and depression. Read the full article here.