So far, one of the courses I have learned the most about life is Occupational Dysfunction. Past semester we started talking about mental health. The first day the professor made an introduction activity in which we had to select a member of the group depending on the question he asked. When he asked who would you choose to assign a very important mission and why?, I selected one of my classmates because I thought she was very responsible and perfectionist. Right away the professor told me that being perfectionist wasn't a good thing and that it was an "irrational thought". He said that when you try to always be perfect you are never satisfied, because nothing people do is completely perfect.
That got me thinking. I always knew that it was impossible to always be perfect but have never thought of it as an "irrational thought" or something that could lead people to mental illness. That doesn't mean that you have to lower your expectations or your standards on your own work. I believe that people should always try their best. It just means that we shouldn't give ourselves such a hard time when we make a mistake or when things don't go as we planned. Knowing this will help me become more aware of my future clients behaviors and abilities to manage non-perfect situations.
