Humanitarian perfectionism

Perfectionism is a Janus phenomenon: its motivation can be positive and constructive when one strives to achieve a utilitarian purpose, and negative and nefarious when one intends self-aggrandizement.

Perfectionism drives people to attain the impossible, push success slabs and trespass new horizons. However, it also bears in-built drawbacks that come into action when the pursuit of perfectionism crosses the Rubicon of constructive and collective interests — here, it starts threatening mental health, relationships and overall well-being.

In their 1991 paper, psychologists Paul Hewitt and Gorden Flett define three forms of perfectionism:

1- Self-oriented: When someone demands perfection from themselves.

2- Other-oriented: When someone demands perfection from other people.

3- Socially prescribed: When someone feels pressure from others to be perfect.

The aspect of perfectionism gained prominence with the commodification of human talent and FOMO on social media is its chameleonish motivation and negative impact. Fanatic adherence to self-interest transforms perfectionists into misanthropic daemons and freaks.

Childhood is considered the most impressionable phase for perfectionism shaped by divergent environmental, familial and societal influences. Children fed on lavish praise for their achievements and rewarded for excellence start to gauge their self-worth through their achievements.

Individuals with low self-esteem chase perfection as a way to compensate for their perceived inadequacies. The gap between words and actions builds up a mentality to have everything perfect or perfectly orchestrated. That’s why all the vigilantes are the catechists of perfectionism.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor tries to create through his science a perfect sentient specimen but ends up on creating a monster — a monster of perfectionism — becoming a nemesis of his own creator, and causing death and suffering to those around him including his loved ones.

The aesthetics and ethics of perfectionism lie in allowing for human failings and fallibilities. It is the godly attribute to embrace fellow human beings in all their form and content. In How to Be an Imperfectionist, author Stephen Guise shares his personal journey from being a perfectionist to embracing imperfectionism. He argues that imperfectionists are generally happier, healthier, and more productive. “A common, false assumption is that aiming for perfection gets you closer to it. The opposite is true: Embracing imperfection will bring you closer to perfection than a perfectionist mindset will,” claims Stephen Guise.

Sufism does not prescribe such a Cartesian perfectionist division of human beings as evil or righteous. A Punjabi poet Tajamul Kaleem encapsulates Sufi doctrine of all-embracing treatment of human beings:

Yaar Kaleema jogi aggay/Supp gadoya ik brabar

[To a saint, the snake and the earthworm are equal]

In Islamic jurisprudence, the nearest concept to perfectionism is taqwa (piety, righteousness), which is to walk on the path fenced with thorny bushes, keeping one’s robe unpicked on thorns. Islam doesn’t recommend a perfectionist’s hermetic life. Rather, it advises its followers to face off evil without being carried away by it.

Educational perfectionism demands every student to stand out as toppers. To win accolades to counter societal, familial and peer pressures, students resort to every fair or foul means. Rote-learning helps in achieving the simulation of academic excellence. Moreover, students fall victim to depression and existential anxieties. When anguish aggravates, the ideation of suicide ensues.

Evangelist J John recounts a biblical story using poetic licence that when John the Baptist refuses to baptise Jesus as he hasn’t committed any sin, and the baptism is meant only for the sinning humans, Jesus embraces sins of all the sinners to claim eligibility for baptism. Humanitarian perfectionism is the holy grail that must be sought at all cost.