As high achieving, goal-oriented physicians we feel that perfection is the ultimate goal. Unfortunately, this unsustainable pursuit will, ultimately, lead to your burnout. Many of us want the best for ourselves, our families and our patients and we have trained our minds to seek perfection as a measure of success.
I am here to tell you that progress is better than perfection!
Perfection is elusive … it can be a siren song. Remember, you can never quite reach perfection as it simply can not be fully achieved. Once we grasp this; when you stop trying to find it, you free yourself to pursue your goals and dreams truly.
So what is perfection?
While Merriam Webster defines perfect as “being entirely without fault or defect”, perfectionism, as defined by psychologist Dr. Frost, is “broadly defined as a combination of excessively high personal standards and overly critical self-evaluations”. (1)
The latter is a far better description of a physician’s (or other high achieving professionals) quest. There is this false perception that the perfect life (or lifestyle) is within reach if one would just try hard enough. This flawed thinking, on the surface, makes a lot of sense. Why? That’s how many of us achieved “success” in our careers–we worked hard, if not harder than our peers.
Pursuing perfection is much more though. And it seems to be getting worse with each generation.
Social psychologists, Drs. Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill, of York St. John University, expand on the work of Drs. Hewitt and Flett and describe three dimensions of perfectionism.
Self-oriented perfectionism
When a belief of being perfect directs toward the self, individuals “attach an irrational importance of being perfect, hold unrealistic expectations of themselves, and are punitive in their self-evaluations”.(2)
Does this sound familiar? Sure it does. This characteristic shared by many of us leads to burnout. This relentless pursuit toward perfection in our career takes away from the splendor and awe of medicine–specifically in practicing the art of medicine. This chase will ultimately rob you of doing things that you love with the people you love.
Socially-prescribed perfectionism
In contrast to self-oriented perfectionism, socially-prescribed perfectionism is perceived when an individual feels that their social circle is excessively demanding and that the individual must display an image of perfection to seek approval. If not, the perception is that the individual will be judged harshly.
With social media becoming ingrained in our culture and day-to-day practice, this dimension of perfectionism is the most debilitating. Various studies have found a positive association with increases in depressive symptoms, anxiety and suicide ideations. (3,4).
Sadly, this is worsening with recent generations. In a recent meta-analysis, Drs. Curran and Hill found that recent generations of college students are “perceiving that their social context is increasingly demanding, that others judge them more harshly and that they are increasingly inclined to display perfection as a means of securing approval”.(2)
“The greatest fear in the world is of the opinions of others. And the moment you are unafraid of the crowd you are no longer a sheep, you become a lion. A great roar arises in your heart, the roar of freedom.” – Osho
Other-Oriented Perfectionism
This aspect of perfectionism occurs when the perfectionist’s expectations are directed toward others. This type of trait is observed when the individual imposes unrealistic requirements on those around them and, ultimately, criticizes them harshly when those expectations are not met.
When others fall short, are we quick to blame? Is our narcissistic desire for others’ approval causing us to burnout?
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”–Stephen Covey
There is a Better Way. Let’s Try Something Different.
As I see it, we have two choices in our search for perfection. We can keep pursuing perfection knowing that it can never truly be achieved or focus our energies on progressing toward your excellence.
1. Be 1% better every day
Each day, just focus on getting 1% better. That’s it. Just 1% but it will compound over time. In 1 year, you would have improved 3800%. This concept initially came from depressive era business management theorists who challenged companies to look for small improvements on existing jobs rather than overhauling a department or industry. Japanese companies embraced this philosophy and ultimately gave it a name called Kaizen which is the Japanese word for continuous improvement.
These continuous, small, incremental improvements we make each day will radically improve your life and well-being. These minor enhancements are going to be modest when you start (almost imperceivable), yet with focus and intentionality, you will see massive results.
For example, if you want to develop your Morning Ritual, you first dedicate just 5 minutes the first day, then 6 minutes the next and so on. Or do you want to start journaling? Same concept; start with 1 minute of free form writing then 2 minutes the next day and so on.
2. Set realistic goals
On the aspect of setting SMART goals is being realistic toward achievement. I have always challenged you to seek excellence and pursue big, audacious goals. I feel that is the key to wellness and preventing physician burnout, but these goals should be just outside your comfort zone not unrealistic in nature.
Similar to getting 1% better, start small and start with just one goal. Don’t be overzealous. This leads to “goal overload” and becomes more of a task rather than progress improvement. Start off with picking one aspect of yourself that you want to improve such as lose weight. Realistically, if you are 100 lbs overweight, this can’t be accomplished in 6 months (at least not safely or sustainably). Focus on a realistic goal of 1-2 lbs a week and progress toward that.
3. Embrace Failure as Part of Progress
Fear of failure is a genuine phenomenon in our career. Many of us have experienced this one time or another. Yet, taking the first step in embracing this fear of failure is a crucial task needed to progress toward your well-being.
One of the biggest obstacles of this fear is that it causes us to do nothing. We remain stagnant because “stagnant” is comfortable and secure. Unfortunately, we miss great opportunities and left with a negative vision of ourselves.
Step out of your comfort zone and embrace failure. Yes, you will fail at things, and that’s perfectly fine. This is one of the first steps toward growth and well-being.
4. Be Consistent
Finally, creating and maintaining positive habits has been the single most crucial aspect of my journey toward my well-being. As an emergency physician, my workday is unpredictable–it’s kind of part of the job. Knowing this, I create powerful habits that allow me to control what can be controlled and, if I may use the words of Robert Frost, that has made all the difference.
Progress, not perfection, has been instrumental for me. It has allowed me to accept that perfection is a mythical concept and to refocus my attention on growth instead. Understand this, though. I am always striving for excellence in my daily life–personally and professionally. Do I achieve every day? No, of course not, but I do learn something more every day–even it is 1% more.
What are 2 things that you do to grow throughout your workday? Please share your comments below with the Medicine Revived Community. We would love to hear from you.
- Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 449– 468.
- Curran T, Hill AP (2019). Perfectionism is increasing over time: A meta-analysis of birth cohort differences from 1989 to 2016. Psychol Bull. 2019 Apr;145(4):410-429
- Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Rnic, K., Saklofske, D. H., Enns, M., & Gralnick, T. (2016). Are perfectionism dimensions vulnerability factors for depressive symptoms after controlling for neuroticism? A meta-analysis of 10 longitudinal studies. European Journal of Personality, 30, 201–212.
