The Insidiousness of Perfectionism
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Pages | 04 |
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
BY J. RYANN PEYTON
Lawyers are perfectionistic creatures. Perhaps the pathway into the profession creates perfectionistic lawyers, or maybe perfectionistic people are uniquely called to the law. Either way, we have a perfectionism problem in our profession.
On the surface, it might be difficult to see the downside to our perfectionistic culture. Perfectionism demands high achievement and can spur us to do our best work for clients, thereby creating value for the services we offer. But it also causes us to be unhealthy as individuals by locking us in a cycle of persistent dissatisfaction, and it breeds divisiveness by encouraging us to preserve the status quo and discouraging us from connecting authentically with one another.
In our attempts to get everything right, we are getting much of it very wrong.
Perfectionism Isn't About Being Perfect
As a profession, we tend to underestimate the dangers of perfectionism. For some of us, it's an irritating personality quirk. Sometimes we use perfectionism to signal how hardworking we are. True perfectionism, however, is far from a personality quirk or a humblebrag—it can be deadly.
Perfectionism is linked to a host of negative outcomes, including eating disorders,[1] fibromyalgia,[2] depression,[3] and suicide.[4] But even outside of clinical disorders, perfectionism can lead to significant problems in daily life, impacting everything from our productivity and work performance to our relationships and physical health.[5] Needless to say, perfectionism is far more serious than it's usually presented.
Perfectionism is often viewed as a noble desire for positive results, but it's actually a coping mechanism many of us developed in childhood. Research shows that we develop a habit of perfectionism from a young age as a way to ease negative or painful emotions.[6] Over time, we learn to respond to negative emotions by seeking perfection as a way to feel better. For lawyers, these negative emotions might stem from the immense responsibility, high risks of failure, vicarious trauma, and imposter syndrome that can come with the practice of law. Striving for perfection can help us temper these challenging feelings and give us a sense of control in a volatile profession.
Perfectionism Versus Accountability
Although perfectionism isn't really about high...
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