Why Perfectionists Tend to Fear Success

Key points

Perfectionists often self-sabotage, fearing being exposed as frauds.

Even though success is fickle, perfectionists demand a constant stream of it to not dislike themselves.

Perfectionists struggle to accept success if they aren't perfect.

Perfectionism is closely linked to self-defeating behavior. Here, self-defeating is defined as any act that conflicts with and diminishes the possibility of fulfilling one’s goals , even if that individual continues to believe they’re serving them. As a cognitive framework (i.e., an understanding of how something in the world works), perfectionism is extremely rigid; one strongly believes they know what does and doesn’t foster success (or goodness, in the case of moral perfectionism). Thus, grasping at it often feels much easier than hold