Most people would consider having high standards a good thing. Striving for excellence can show that you are ambitious and that you have a good work ethic and strength of character. High standards can also push you to reach your peak level of performance. For example, successful athletes often train long and hard to reach excellence in their sports.

Like most successful individuals, perfectionists also have high standards. The main difference, however, is that the perfectionists’ standards and expectations are so high that they are very difficult, or even impossible to meet. Having such high standards is likely to interfere with performance, and contribute to emotional difficulties including anxiety and depressio.