"What is your weakness?"
I constantly get asked when applying or interviewing for jobs or internships. And of course, I say, "I am a perfectionist."
The typical answer.
And as I continue to explain that, I can see the eye roll and uninterested face develop along with them beginning to zone out. But I actually am a perfectionist. Most people use the term "perfectionist" as if it's a good weakness to have.
Wrong.
I am a perfectionist and unless you are actually one too, you won't understand when I say it actually negatively impacts my life. This article, for example, will take me at least an hour longer than it should take me, and this is a common problem of mine.
There are some people who do think of themselves as perfectionists but only in certain areas. For me, being a perfectionist applies to my entire life. As a perfectionist, I could be making more than the average person a year and high on my career ladder, and still feel like I can do better.
There's always room for improvement, but "perfect" isn't a realistic goal. Being a perfectionist takes a toll on my entire life.
Some people may feel that being a "perfectionist" goes along the same lines as having OCD, but it's possible to just simply be a perfectionist. A lot of people know me as the girl who spends her entire day at the library.
Some people may think I just get really distracted or I procrastinate too much or I just get swamped with homework, but really, I spend way too long on one thing, trying to perfect it. But in reality, perfection is hard to come by - and I know that, but that doesn't stop me from trying to make my work the best it could be, which actually ends up being the opposite.
As a perfectionist, you never think your work is enough and you constantly change things trying to make it better, which eventually makes it overdone or the complete opposite of better. Realistically, you should go with the first thing that pops in your head or what comes from your "gut" instinct, but as a perfectionist, nothing is enough.
Wondering if you're a perfectionist? Here are 10 signs you struggle with being a perfectionist.
1. You spend endless amounts of time on assignments, homework, projects, studying, etc., when it should have been a simple task.
2. You're constantly doing something and you hate just sitting around.
3. Your "down time" is just more time for you to think about how you should have done something different or how you could have improved.
4. You have a specific way of getting things done, and if something gets in the way, it sets you back.
5. It causes you to lose sleep.
6. It irritates you to see someone not putting in effort or caring.
7. You hate when people intervene. You need to have full control of the situation. You and only you.
8. You are always expecting and wanting more. You are rarely ever "fulfilled" and success is never enough.
9. You constantly email and check in with your professors.
10. You care too much about what people think and take critiques too harsh.
Being a perfectionist is more common than you think and just being aware of it is one step closer to not letting it negatively affect you as much as it normally would. We all have our negative qualities or characteristics, and being a perfectionist is mine. Although I have always been one, I just realized this quality about myself. And now that I've figured this out and accepted it, I am more aware of what I am doing and try to avoid it from happening. My name is Alyssa Cook and I am a perfectionist.
