Hi,
I agree with you.
I hate making mistakes ... and sometimes I wish others did too!
There. I said it.
I believe in perfectionism. And sport psychology.
I explain why for both below.
(... and if you are having a hard time doing perfectionism well so that it helps, not hurts, you performance ... reply to this e-mail and let's set up a meeting.)
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The Benefits of Perfectionism
I support perfectionism.
You’ve often heard it said that “no one is perfect.”
Maybe you’ve been told, “you are too hard on yourself!”
A mentor might have encouraged “progress over perfection” or “done is better than perfect.”
But is it?
Let me defend you, my perfectionists.
Research has established that perfectionism does have its benefits:
- Perfectionists tend to have higher levels of motivation and contentiousness.
- They have a high personal standard, often easily meeting standards set by others.
- Perfectionists tend to be well organized and have excellent attention to detail, producing polished results.
- They tend to make less mistakes when focused on excellence and catch errors easily.
- Perfectionists take up challenges and work hard toward desired outcomes.
- In academics, perfectionists have higher exam performances, higher individual grades, and a higher GPA than those with lower perfectionistic strivings.
- Greater perfectionistic strivings have also been correlated with greater sport performance, likely due to the effort produced from the desire to win and excel.
A word of caution, however. You will maximize these benefits if you are an “excellence-seeking” perfectionist rather than a “failure-avoiding” perfectionist.
The difference is in your focus.
Focus on what it takes to do the job well, accepting and correcting mistakes so you can be better.
If you focusing on the mistakes themselves and how much you want to avoid them, you risk making even more mistakes, hurting your performance and increasing stress, anxiety, and the risk of burnout.
… and if your perfectionism is hurting your performance, rather than helping it - consider tele-health consulting and let me help you become the “perfect perfectionist.”
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What Sport Psychology Can Do For You
From a recent interview with VoyageMichigan:
"Sport and performance psychology is a science of excellence that every high-achiever can benefit from. If you want to excel and be in the top 5%, you can’t do what the other 95% are doing. Excellence is unnatural and requires a specific mindset and emotional strength that can be learned and developed.
Over the years, the stigma lessened but athletic departments were still hesitant to invest financially. People wanted the information, but for free as they hadn’t realized the cost-effectiveness of sport psychology and mental training.
For example, if you are anxious, how much does cost you in mistakes, losses, missed practice time, embarrassment, lack of playing time, not making the team, and losing scholarships? Are you practicing well but not performing well in games and feel like all that financial investment in camps, private coaching, travel to tournaments, and equipment has gone to waste? Wouldn’t an investment in your mental game likely yield the greatest results?
People are now realizing the answer is yes, which is why almost all the professional sport teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL employ sport psychology and mental training staff. As 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, 'If you’re not working with a sports psychologist, you’re not trying to get better. To think that psychology is an indicator of weakness truly is an ignorant statement. When people are fighting it, it’s only because they don’t understand it.'"
Read the whole interview here: https://voyagemichigan.com/.../check-out-eddie-oconnor.../
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Dr. Eddie O’Connor
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