ScienceDaily: Obsession with failure and hunt for perfection linked to burnout, sports study uncovers

"More than 250 sportspeople -- across individual and team sports -- were examined and it was discovered hyper self-critical competitors who react negatively to even minor failings are at risk of psychological difficulty.

It was discovered perfectionistic concerns -- an obsession and excessive reaction to perceived failure -- were strongly related to athlete burnout. This fixation on failure may see them view any achievement as inadequate and upcoming competitions, as disproportionately stressful, and create a self-fulfilling performance prophecy.

It is hoped the study led by Luke Olsson, from the University's School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences will help shine a light on burnout. He said: "Most people have come across the term burnout, with a lot of research focussing on the reason why it develops. There are many studies that have shown if an individual pursues perfection, whether that be in work, sport, or school, it can lead to burnout.””

My Takeaways From This Article

1. This study specifically sampled a group of athletes of various sports and showed that athletes that had an overly self-critical view of their failures and mistakes made during the sport showed considerable susceptibility to burnout compared to athletes who did not have this mindset.

2. The researcher in this paper hopes to perhaps use this example to show a bigger picture of the perfectionist and self-critical mindset in general, not just in athletes. Perhaps people who are self-critical and perfectionist, focusing only on their mistakes and failures will also lead to burnout to their associated activities other than sports.

TLDR: Being self-critical is a human trait and striving for perfection is natural for many of us. Over our human history, learning from our mistakes and failures has helped us learn from these experiences and anticipate future events that may arise to prevent the same failure. However as the article says a fixation on these such failures and striving for unbridled perfection can bring in a perhaps more dangerous onset of burnout. Criticism is no relaxing feat. It brings in itself a host of negative emotions and energy focused on improvement and perfection. When we let that overtake us it can lead to consistent stress which will affect our performance and lives down the line.

Full article is here!

What were your takeaways of this article? Would you say you are critical of yourself? What are some ways we can improve ourselves through criticism but also avoid burnout?

#Burnout #Criticism #Perfectionist