Leon's Existential Cafe

Perfectionists, in large part due to their general cognitive rigidity (e.g., the inability to hold multiple and seemingly conflicting perspectives simultaneously), tend to fixate on essences (Dyck et al. 2007).

The state of limerence is most obviously a fantasy, defined by psychologist Dorothy Tennov as the romantic fixation on an idealized version of an individual and marked by an inability to focus on one’s life, attempts at resolving the uncertainty about whe…

Perfectionism is pronounced in the autistic population (Greenaway et al. 2010), as autistic individuals tend to struggle with black and white thinking and a need for certainty, thereby using the pursuit of perfection to try to eliminate confusion and even…

In the end, obsessiveness and perfectionism are mere stand-ins, or metaphors, less so symbolizing the chase for external success and more so implying an escape from vulnerability.

“How do you expect anyone to respect you when you don’t respect yourself?”

We fear life as much as death.

Perfectionism is the ultimate form of self-deception.

Psychotherapy is the process of acclimating one to the ordinary.

While each of us are the centers of our own universes, sometimes, our judgments of ourselves should be de-emphasized, especially when they’re based on unrealistic standards.

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche remarked, “One loves one’s desire, not the desired.”