“I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying again.” Michael Jordan

Among athletes, there is a quest for perfection.

However, this quest can lead to overtraining, injury, and impaired recovery from injury. It can also make athletes less competitive in the game.

Perfectionism makes athletes less confident about your ability and eventually leads to the fear of failure.

Perfectionism isn’t Always Beneficial

A perfectionist usually has the most determination to win but also gets the most affected when things don’t go according to plan.

They are continuously telling themselves to be perfect, and when they achieve anything less, they feel like a failure.

In basketball psychology, it is said that perfectionism does more harm than good to an athlete.

It is essential to acknowledge mistakes as a lesson to be learned from rather than failure.

You cannot achieve perfection at the end of the day, but you can improve your performance, so that, itself, is a big win.

Having a perfectionist mindset can strain your mental game because you will expect things of yourself that are unrealistic.

You can only learn to be better throughout the process, and it takes time.

Don’t Lose Sight of What Matters

Athletes tend to lose sight of the primary goal which is not to be perfect but to gain the confidence to perform well in the competition.

Set small goals for yourself that you know are realistic and be determined to achieve them rather than striving to be perfect.

The satisfaction you get from achieving these goals will boost your confidence and give you a sense of self-accomplishment.

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