The term ‘Perfectionist’ is frequently used by students as a positive trait describing someone that appears to need to have everything in order or perfect. Whilst there is such thing as ‘healthy perfectionism’ it can also lead to creating a toxic environment for students resulting in stress and anxiety, often impacting the student’s overall ability to perform in high-stress settings such as exams or time-sensitive assignments.

It is important to acknowledge that the concept of perfectionism is unique to every individual. Students who strive for perfection, often feel like no matter their efforts they are inadequate, which is an extremely damaging mentality and can often result in self-sabotaging behaviour. Some students can become so overwhelmed by their own expectations of educational success they put off beginning the assignment and procrastinate up to the deadline so they don’t have to face it.

This internal pressure of success can also be magnified by outside sources such as family members or peers who often just want the best for the student and for them to achieve. However, this confidence in the student’s ability to perform can result in exam anxiety and stress negatively impacting grades and success. The precedent of high achievement often set by the student themselves results in any decrease in results being significant and noticeable, especially in an increasingly competitive educational system.

At Crescent Tuition, we provide Resilience training enabling students to understand that whilst the pursuit of excellence is commendable, they have to have an awareness of the negative impact the pursuit for perfection can have on the most talented students. We are able to provide coping mechanisms and training so that students can perform consistently without the crippling pressure of having to get the top grades.