Perfectionism: The Athlete's Achilles' Heel

Perfectionism: The Athlete’s Achilles’ Heel
By Dr. Alan Goldberg, Sport Psychologist, Competitive Advantage, October 2008
Perfectionism: The need to be perfect /a strong intolerance for anything short of perfection is not always the athlete's friend as it appears to be. On the surface, striving for perfection or to be the best seems like a pretty positive trait to have. It helps you set big goals and then motivates you to go after them. The drive to be perfect also motivates you to look for imperfections in your technique and performance, thus helping you to actually get better. The perfectionist athlete is never satisfied with his performance and therefore constantly looks for ways to improve. On the surface, this seems like a pretty good trait to have if you have big dreams that you want to turn into a reality.

Read more: