The egotism of the perfectionist
A self-help book from 1992, “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, has developed something of a cult following. This quote, shared by the podcaster Tim Ferriss in his weekly email “Five Bullet Friday,” captured my attention recently:
The perfectionist is never satisfied.
The perfectionist never says, ‘This is pretty good. I think I’ll just keep going.’
To the perfectionist, there is always room for improvement. The perfectionist calls this humility. In reality, it is egotism.
It is pride that makes us want to write a perfect script, paint a perfect painting, perform a perfect audition monologue.
Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough—that we should try again.
No. We should not.
— Julia Cameron