Flashback to first grade when my mom went to the parent-teacher conference. I got rave reviews (I was always a good student, even in my youth) but there was one note my teacher gave to her. “Your daughter is a perfectionist.”
Yes, it’s true. I had to perfectly puncture my juice box and write neatly in my cursive workbook. Even now, I stop myself and recognize when something I’m doing is a tad out of the ordinary. Here are some examples I have experienced, and if you can relate, you too may be a perfectionist. Welcome to the dark side.
1. Everything has a place. And I mean everything
Your clothes must go on the exact same hanger in the exact same order in your closet. You put your decorative pillows back on your bed so that they’re identical to the day before. And, if you’re really picky, you realign items on your desk that have been shifted ever so slightly. All in a day’s work for a perfectionist.
2. You stand evenly spaced apart in an elevator.
It’s a conscious decision. When getting on an elevator alone, you stand wherever you want, but as soon as someone else gets on, you move over. That sounds perfectly normal, BUT what makes it a perfectionist tendency is that you actively think about how much space is between you. When the next person gets on, you have to adjust. It’s a tiny little thing, but it nags at you to no end.
3. The most unsatisfying video in the world actually makes you want to cry.
WHY ARE YOU CUTTING THE CAKE IN THAT WAY, SIR. THAT IS NOT CORRECT. When that video circulated Facebook, I wanted to punch a wall. If you were not only bothered but ENRAGED by that horrible video of imperfection, congratulations, you’re a perfectionist.
4. Being asked to swipe your metro card again pisses you off just as much as the guy behind you.
I’m sorry, was my first swipe not satisfactory to you? It makes you mad that the turnstile didn’t approve of your card positioning and swipe speed.
5. You can’t leave your room until your eyeliner is twinning.
You don’t care how thick they end up getting, if your wings aren’t perfectly symmetrical, you aren’t going out. Whoever came up with that “sisters not twins” bullshit is clearly NOT a perfectionist.
