Take The Perfectionist Quiz to Find Out
How Many Traits of a Perfectionist Do You Have?
Most of us have find ourselves on the constant pursuit of perfection: Doing the best job we can, setting goals, working relentlessly to reach them, and maintaining high standards, right? Not really, perfectionism isn’t about any of this. Perfectionism is a long, maddening drive down a never-ending road for flawlessness. It provides no rest stops for mistakes, leeway for personal limitations or the oft-necessary changing of minds.
The never-ending pursuit of perfection can cause feelings of anxiety, fear, depression, and self-doubt, affecting self-esteem and blocking creative thinking.
People who are perfectionists are more than just detail-oriented high achievers. In one 2014 paper published in the Review of General Psychology, researchers suggested perfectionism may be a risk factor for suicidal thoughts. 
Everybody has some “built-in” perfectionism, especially in our achievement-oriented, competitive culture. That’s natural. For many though, it can can reach unhealthy levels. Are you one of these people?
Grab a scrap of paper and make a checkmark for each of the following statements that describes you. For every statement that resonates with the way you feel you will score one point.
The Perfectionist Quiz
Complete this quiz to discover how perfectionistic you are. For every statement that resonates with the way you feel you will score one point.
- I never do anything halfway — it’s all or nothing for me — every time.
- People who do things halfway make me angry and/or disgust me.
- I believe there’s a sure way to do things and they should always be done that way.
- I get mad or defensive when I make mistakes. I hate to make them.
- I often procrastinate starting projects.
- I seldom meet deadlines. When I do, I kill myself meeting them.
- I feel humiliated when things aren’t perfect.
- I dislike not knowing how to do something or to be a beginner. If I can’t do something well, I prefer not to do it.
- Everybody says I expect too much of myself.
- In my family, you could never measure up to expectations.
- I’m hard on myself when I lose, even if it’s only a friendly game or contest.
- I often withdraw from others and group activities.
- I don’t believe it is possible to make work fun and/or pleasurable.
- Even when I accomplish something, I usually feel let down or empty.
- I criticize myself and others excessively.
- I have to be in control; if I can’t be in control, then it’s most likely I won’t participate.
- No matter how much I’ve done, I know there’s always more I can do.
- I don’t delegate often, and when I do, I always double-check to make sure they did the job right. It’s never done right.
- I believe it’s possible to do something perfectly. If I keep at it, I can do it perfect.
- Forgetting and forgiving is not something I readily do or something I do well.
Scoring the Quiz
Add up your total points and use the scoring system below to help you figure out how perfectionistic you are.
0-2: No perfectionism here.
3-7: Completely normal. Nothing to worry about.
8-10: You have some perfectionist qualities that may be hindering your true self. Watch out for those behaviors and strive to let go a little bit.
11-19: You have perfectionist qualities, and perhaps you never realized how much they were affecting your life until now. These behaviors are preventing the true you from shining through.
20: You scored a “perfect” 100% on the perfectionist quiz. Perfectionist tendencies are causing some real issues in your life.
If your scores are on the high end, it’s time to consider shifting your energy from being a perfectionist to striving for excellence instead. Read on.
Excellence begins with clarity, not perfectionism. What do you want to achieve? What’s your main driver and why? And once you have the clarity of what you want to achieve, excellence is about confidently driving towards it. Excellence requires you to know when it’s ok to push forward even when you don’t have all of the data or the perfect plan while refining the details as you move ahead.
Excellence exposes itself to the type of language you use, the questions you ask, those you surround yourself with and how you interact with the world.
Excellence shows up in small things: Are you on time for meetings? Are you aware of the impact of your actions on others? Are you present? Do you listen to understand others? Are you aware of the biases you bring to the table?
Excellence requires flexibility, adaptability without losing sight of your vision.
Are you concerned about your perfectionist behavior? Do you feel your drive for excellence looks more like a long “To-do” list rather than an ascent of who you are and how you show up? Are you ready to change that? Then let’s have a conversation.
If YOU are ready for change, let’s have a conversation. Only if you feel ready, contact me to schedule a complimentary consultation at http://maricarmenpizarro.com/contact-mari-carmen/
