Careers writer Penelope Trunk says perfectionism is a disorder, not unlike obsessive compulsive disorder, that will frustrate and bedevil you as you try, in vain, to reach the elusive goal of being perfect.
To avoid the perfectionism trap, she suggests you allow yourself to be wrong in front of others. Tell a story that is stupid, or wear mismatched clothing. "You'll notice that people are not particularly vested in you being right. They don't care if you're right or wrong in what you do or say. They just want you to get stuff done well enough that they can do what they need to do. And this is usually a far cry from perfection," she writes in her online BNET column on bnet.com.
You can be a diligent, extra-attentive worker, she says, but learn to separate that from perfectionism. "You can be a hard-working person and cut corners. In fact, it's often a requirement: Smart people cut corners. The art of being a star performer is knowing which corners to cut."
Harvey Schachter