Thread: Are you a perfectionist? Do you know somebody who is? Explain.

I am not, my wife is.

I am my own worst critic when it comes to my performing abilities .

I came up with a little phrase 12 years ago ...

Amateurs practice until they get it right ... Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.

I guess I'm that way. Most court reporters I know are also. That's probably what draws us into that field. But a lot of torment comes with it - all that "to err is human" baggage. I wish I could ascend to godhood and get it over with.

Yes, I revise a lot everything I do. The mere idea that something is wrong and I don't know it simply kills me. It's a psychological battle!. And in the case where I know what is wrong, I simply cannot move forward until I fix the problem. Particularly in physics.

I'm so used to making mistakes... And, the worst part is that I forgive myself easily... LOL. When I make translations, I translate rather quickly, but plenty ofe mistakes, I read myself again and I correct the best I can.. Then I give it to my professional "filter" (i.e. my wife) who has that perfect spirit and the job is always great! I feel great the way I am, I am not patient enough to become a perfectionist. I'm pretty sure Mozart wasn't (was he?). He lived just 35 years...do you think, looking to his huge production, he took the time to correct? I guess, you can't produce so much when you are a perfectionist. He was a real GENIOUS though.
Look at Balzac. Nevertheless, he produced a lot...But he lived enough to do so. ("I pass most of my time rewriting texts"). Good for you Honoré. I don't have the patience to do that. My Portuguese sucks, my Italian as well, probably my written English is not great (my pronounciation is quite good), my Russian is so, so....Do you think I mind? I speak in these languages with my mistakes fast enough... And when you don't speak perfectly the language, you can't even notice my multiple mistakes. When I write here, I'm sure I make many different kinds of mistakes...Mene frega! LOL. Je m'en fous! I don't give a fig! Me importa poco!

Ciao

Martin

About music : too much. Being a perfectionist with rather poor discipline and work ethic lead to burn out quite often

About almost all the rest : nope.

I'm a messy perfectionist, I'm both lazy and fussy. I'm the perfect romantic artist ! Humm...

If I were a normal guy, I should be impressed and jealous by perfectionists. Well, I am absolutely not! The best fault I consider I have: I am not patient. Many consider patience as a vertue. Not me! I could occasionally be a little perfectionist when I am convinced that otherwise I won't get it.

Martin

Originally Posted by myaskovsky2002

If I were a normal guy, I should be impressed and jealous by perfectionists. Well, I am absolutely not! The best fault I consider I have: I am not patient. Many consider patience as a vertue. Not me! I could occasionally be a little perfectionist when I am convinced that otherwise I won't get it.

Martin

I'm a perfectionist and impatient!, imagine my internal struggle!

Sometimes I am a perfectionist, sometimes I'm not.

My mum is a perfectionist.

Originally Posted by aleazk

I'm a perfectionist and impatient!, imagine my internal struggle!

Me too! Except I am also stubborn, which helps a lot!

Originally Posted by Krummhorn

I am my own worst critic when it comes to my performing abilities .

I came up with a little phrase 12 years ago ...

Amateurs practice until they get it right ... Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.

Well, that's not entirely true, in my opinion. I, for one, am an amateur and am pretty much seeking to perfect my performances or practices at home; never satisfied. Sure, there's a point where amateurs make their "rite of passage" to the professional side, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the amateur stopped being a perfectionist (if he/she has been one at all to begin with).

And likewise, I'm pretty much my own worst critic as well - not always negatively, but still. Same goes for my mother.

I think there's a kind of sliding scale of perfectionists. From top (most perfectionist) to bottom, it goes something like this, maybe:

1. Anally retentive obsessed perfectionist / perfection freak
2. V.P.P. or Very Pedantic Person
3. Normal perfectionist - eg. perfectionist in things that matter (eg. in matters of life and death, YES, but NOT in things like hanging out the socks to dry on the line in matching colour coded pairs, etc.)
4. Non-perfectionist
5. Nowhere near perfectionist (IMperfectionist?)

Originally Posted by ComposerOfAvantGarde

Sometimes I am a perfectionist, sometimes I'm not...

Same here.

Some people say I am, but I don't experience things that way. I just have a higher standard for competence than most people.

More could be said on this, but people don't like me when I share these thoughts.

Originally Posted by MaestroViolinist

Me too! Except I am also stubborn, which helps a lot!

It helps a lot to become crazy? LOL

Originally Posted by Sid James

I think there's a kind of sliding scale of perfectionists. From top (most perfectionist) to bottom, it goes something like this, maybe:

1. Anally retentive obsessed perfectionist / perfection freak
2. V.P.P. or Very Pedantic Person
3. Normal perfectionist - eg. perfectionist in things that matter (eg. in matters of life and death, YES, but NOT in things like hanging out the socks to dry on the line in matching colour coded pairs, etc.)
4. Non-perfectionist
5. Nowhere near perfectionist (IMperfectionist?)




Same here.

I buy your idea of categories! I am between 3 and 4...Depending of the importance of the matter.... Pedantic? I can't see the relation between pedantic and perfectionist... I don't like pedantic people.

Martin, humble