Our dangerous obsession with perfectionism is getting worse | Thomas Curran

Social psychologist Thomas Curran explores how the pressure to be perfect -- in our social media feeds, in school, at work -- is driving a rise in mental illness, especially among young people. Learn more about the causes of this phenomenon and how we can create a culture that celebrates the joys of imperfection.

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[Iinlinyouforgotyourblingbling]

“Perfection is antithesis of authenticity” - by far my favorite quotation.

amazing talk.

[haripriyar]

I get this so much. I’m constantly hit with anxiety and depressing thoughts for small reasons like waking up later than I intended to or studying less than I’d planned or weighing more than I want to.
I’ve unrealistic goals for myself on a daily basis.

[revi]

This speaks to me so much. I was in the hospital due to depression for 7 weeks. The reason: My perfectionism.
Always telling myself: There is more I can do. I need to be better. I need to get everything right the first time I try. Flaws are bad. I want to be perfect. I scored an A in one of my presentations, but I forgot the page number so everything is bad about it and I don't have the right to feel good.
This was leading me to always be unhappy. Have high expectations of myself I could never ever meet. Was letting me think I was a total looser, when in fact, I was doing well. And even when everything was going well, I felt like ending everything.
Perfectionism is indeed a horrible thing, when taking way too far.

[titlespree]

Perfection is a scam, persistence is the way to go for achieving great things! 🌞

[LuckInklusiv]

"Perfection is the Enemy of Progress" - Winston Churchill

"Perfection is boring. Getting better is where all the fun is" - Dragos Roua

Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.

A Beautiful Thing Is Never Perfect.

[CoventryKessler]

"Nobody's perfect" and "Close enough is good enough." Two very useful mottoes from my growing up.

[VitrumFilms]

"Perfectionism" destroyed my ability to create. I'm getting better, but at my worst I was unable to complete projects and ended up abandoning them and losing thousands of pounds worth of work because I couldn't satisfy my own artistic goals within the deadlines I was allotted.


I have no social perfectionist values, only artistic.

[timmi]

The problem with perfectionism is that it does not tolerate imperfections. A perfectionist won't start eating right until he reads a ton of books about proper nutrition. Everything is important to them. Every milligram, every second, every calorie, the exact time of eating. They can’t even go to the store in peace, because it is important for them to know the expiration date, storage conditions, temperature in the store, cleanliness, whether they left the meat or milk at room temperature and then put it back in the refrigerator. This is all I am. Even when I was being treated, I was unconsciously doing something perfectly. You switch off and think. Breathing becomes uneven. It annoys you. You will either do it perfectly or not do it at all, leaving this matter until better times. Fight it

[wishiknew]

This seems to be one of the pitfalls of social media, perfection is able to be posed online. Taking advantage of the insecurities of adolescents, by seeing only the positives in others lives. "They live such an amazing live" "They must be able to do so much more with their life" What social media fails to capture is the struggle that goes along with the prosperous moments of life. The moments where hard work is required, and how not everything comes easy. No one is perfect and that is okay!

[keziaolive]

I really love how he sounds very sincere and humble, yet highlights the things we have to perceive differently.

[melissas]

Yes! Finally linking mental illnesses to perfectionist.

[jorgeberruete]

THATS WHY PRACTICE DOESN'T MAKE PERFECT IT MAKES IMPROVEMENT WE ARE ALWAYS IMPROVING THINK ABOUT IT

[HumansOfVR]

*If you look for perfection, you'll never be content*

[DanceUnderInfluence]

It's good to see people are researching things that actually matter. I have been struggling with perfectionism and this opened my third eye. Thank you.

[benjamingarvin]

Its really easy to be perfectionist in today's world. Perseverance is great but perfectionism makes people unhappy. What we need to learn is accepentance, not just with others, but ourselves.

[KOKKO]

It's about my country, Japan XD
Japanese keeps working very long for promotion, fee, reputation, responsebility, pressure etc.
It seems to be that they live for work.
Hard work results tiredness.
Atmosphere in company is awful.
If someone go home in time,
coworkers complain about it.
They monitor each other.
I hope that society changes to accept various values.

[rjjjj_]

I absolutely loved & enjoyed this ted talk. Perfectionism like he said is a major problem and we need to help young people. I think we need to focus and be comfortable with doing our best than striving to be perfect. We are doing fine. ✨

[rosekirby]

This TED Talk is very important for young people to see. The speaker is on point about unattainable expectations and image. Personally, I'm not a fan of social media platforms as I believe they lead to unhealthy notions.

[umarsufyan]

perfection is leading simple life
not trying to be other
always be yourself
you are unique

[bigjohn]

This is probably the best tedtalk I've ever heard.