Socially prescribed perfectionism: Involves high standards and social pressure to succeed. This type contributes to poor self-confidence and feelings of anxiety. There are deliberate echoes of Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' as Dr Dettore prophesies a genetic underclass made up of those who were not designed. After all, many of us live in societies where the first question when you meet someone is what you do for a living. Where we are so literally valued for the quality and extent of our accomplishments that those achievements often correlate, directly, to our ability to pay rent or put food on the table. Where complete strangers weigh these on-paper values to determine everything from whether we can rent that flat or buy that car or receive that loan. Where we then signal our access to those resources with our appearance – these shoes, that physique – and other people weigh that, in turn, to see if we’re the right person for a job interview or dinner invitation. In fact, many researchers say that factors often dubbed ‘healthy’ perfectionism, like striving for excellence, aren’t actually perfectionism at all. They’re just conscientiousness – which explains why people with those tendencies often have different outcomes in studies. Perfectionism, they argue, isn’t defined by working hard or setting high goals. It’s that critical inner voice.

Take the student who works hard and gets a poor mark. If she tells herself: “I’m disappointed, but it’s okay; I’m still a good person overall,” that’s healthy. If the message is: “I’m a failure. I’m not good enough,” that’s perfectionism. Curran T, Hill AP. Perfectionism is increasing over time: A meta-analysis of birth cohort differences from 1989 to 2016. Psychol Bull. 2019;145(4):410-429. doi:10.1037/bul0000138 Perhaps you have toxic parents who didn’t (and still don’t) treat you well, or you were bullied at school.

Balancing the need to be honest in recognizing our faults while at the same time doing so in a constructive and kind way is conducive to acceptance and change.

You think, if they have a problem with someone, they should just confront that person and deal with it. Esame rūšis žmonių, kuri tikisi aplenkti šviesą ir daryti daug kitų dalykų, kurių mūsų protėviai negalėjo nė įsivaizduoti, bet neišmokome, kaip įveikti neapykantą savo širdyse, mes esame rūšis, kurios atstovai savo problemas sprendžia tik mėtydamiesi akmenimis. Anyway, creepy kids were created. Super smart, but creepy. Not affectionate towards their parents at all. I know who I am. I am not perfect. I’m not the most beautiful woman in the world. But I’m one of them. ― Mary J. BligeFix your eyes on perfection and you make almost everything speed towards it. ― William Ellery Channing But you may not know that you’re an introvert, and so you mistake your drained feeling for the belief that you don’t like a particular person, or any person for that matter. Perfection is overrated, boring. It’s the imperfections-the vulnerabilities, the weaknesses, the human elements-that make us who we are, that make us real, beautiful…necessary. ― Guy Harrison taking something that is becoming less like science fiction everyday, and giving it a twist like this was clever.