Adaptive perfectionism is linked to optimizing your human potential and helps to create a state of flow. The secret to creating what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes as "flow" is to pinpoint a sweet spot between boredom and anxiety in which your level of skill is perfectly matched to a degree of challenge that is engaging, but not overwhelming.
Flow states rely on fluctuating expectations of optimal performance based on real-time feedback of anxiety and boredom. If you are striving to achieve a challenge that is just barely within the grasp of your skill level — but still feels good — keep doing what you're doing. However, if you are striving to "succeed" perfectly at something that is genuinely too difficult and starts to induce high-anxiety, cut yourself some slack and lower the bar.
There is an important caveat: Too much self-compassion and falling into the habit of always cutting yourself slack (or throwing in the towel and feeling sorry for yourself) when the going gets tough can undermine your resilience and ability to cope with adversity.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201802/self-compassion-counterbalances-maladaptive-perfectionism
Flow states rely on fluctuating expectations of optimal performance based on real-time feedback of anxiety and boredom. If you are striving to achieve a challenge that is just barely within the grasp of your skill level — but still feels good — keep doing what you're doing. However, if you are striving to "succeed" perfectly at something that is genuinely too difficult and starts to induce high-anxiety, cut yourself some slack and lower the bar.
There is an important caveat: Too much self-compassion and falling into the habit of always cutting yourself slack (or throwing in the towel and feeling sorry for yourself) when the going gets tough can undermine your resilience and ability to cope with adversity.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201802/self-compassion-counterbalances-maladaptive-perfectionism
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