Trigger Warning: Mention of Eating Disorders and mental Illness

Welcome back pole dancers to this episode of Science of Slink! This week we are touching on how perfection harms people’s movement, progress, and mental states. To wrap up the video I’m including recommendations for how to avoid perfectionism influences and how to rework patterns of our internal perfectionism.

Let’s start by defining perfectionism, perfectionism is "excessively high personal standards of performance accompanied by tendencies for overly critical evaluations of one's behavior" (Frost, R. 14) perfectionism is different from conscientiousness which exhibits characteristics such as being responsible, organized, hard-working, goal-directed, and adhering to norms and rules.

So why is perfectionism so bad? Perfectionism has been correlated with being a source of chronic stress, it’s associated with a much higher risk of a large range of negative mental health outcomes. One of the big reasons these correlations have been found is because perfectionism steals your ability to enjoy your accomplishments and the things you enjoy.

I recommend reframing perfectionism mindsets and here are some ways I recommend reframing your mindset. First, be honest about whether perfectionism is negatively affecting you. Do you enjoy activities less because of it? Are you under more stress than necessary? Working with a mental health professional can be a huge step in the right direction to help us notice where perfectionism is impacting our lives. One really important thing when looking for a place to practice, try to find spaces where failure is treated as a normal part of life--because it is!

Lastly, but most importantly, work on reframing in your pole practice:

• Have goals around the amount of time spent training a skill or number of attempts as opposed to "nailing it"

• At the end of each training session, write down one thing that felt really good (no qualifiers!)

• Change up your social media feed: mute (temporarily as needed) professional performers and seek out dancers at a similar level and with a similar body type as you (and even then, remember: it's a highlight reel!)

• Take live group classes

Sources:

• Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive therapy and research, 14, 449-468.

• Further reading: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/conscientiousness

• "Canadian prima ballerina Karen Kain acknowledged that perfectionism meant that she enjoyed a very small percentage of her more than 10,000 professional performances" Flett et al 2014

• Hill, A. P., Mallinson-Howard, S. H., & Jowett, G. E. (2018). Multidimensional perfectionism in sport: A meta-analytical review. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 7(3), 235.

• Hall, H. K., & Hill, A. P. (2012). Perfectionism, dysfunctional achievement striving and burnout in aspiring athletes: The motivational implications for performing artists. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 3(2), 216-228.

• Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2014). The perils of perfectionism in sports” revisited: Toward a broader understanding of the pressure to be perfect and its impact on athletes and dancers. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 45(4), 395-407.

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Join pole instructor & personal trainer Rosy Boa as she chats with experts about the evidence-based practices you can introduce to your pole journey to improve your pole journey and feel better. The Evidence-Based Pole Podcast aims to help pole dancers feel better on and off the pole by talking with experts and diving into relevant scientific research to find evidence-based insights we can apply to our pole journeys. It’s a production of Slink Through Strength, the inclusive, evidence-based online pole studio, which can be found online at slinkthroughstrength.com.

Edited by: Simone Rossette

Simone.rossette77@gmail.com