The Editor's Eye Column This Month

Holly's Editor's Eye column talks about the great articles that are in the July issue. Which ones did you enjoy the most?

This month’s issue is so chock full of interesting and illuminating articles, my editing job was a pleasure throughout the whole month. Not that we don’t usually have interesting articles each month, but I guess they don’t always resonate so personally with me.
For starters, For the Love of Dog this month (pg. 42) is about leaving dogs in hot cars and protecting them from the summertime heat in general. I have never lived in an area where so many people cart their dogs with them everywhere. And while that’s absolutely fine with me, Corey does a great job reminding people about the heat in cars. Take a read! And one thing that wasn’t mentioned: Many people believe just cracking windows a bit or leaving them down even halfway will be sufficient. Depending on the temps out and if there is virtually no shade where you are parked, it is not sufficient at all. Thanks for the great public service announcement in your column, Corey!
Another great article of mention was This & That by David Cuin (pg. 38). In it, he succinctly analyzes the attributes and pitfalls of perfectionism, and boy, did that hit home for me!
I have always subscribed to adages such as “if you want a job done right, do it yourself” and “sloppiness equates to laziness.” I believed (or was taught) that if you just took a little more time to do something well and right, the payoff would be worth it. You could feel proud of a job well done. I’m still unclear how much of this mindset is nature versus nurture, but I can definitely say there were plenty of perfectionistic nurturers in my history.
As I was reading through David’s column, I was grateful to discover that if I had to have the ‘perfectionistic plague,’ at least I appear to have the least offensive kind—the ‘healthy’ kind—if perfectionism can be healthy. Apparently, this kind can even live longer! Yay, me. Ha! I joke, because with age, I have come to realize it has taken me some years to move away from the less healthy kind, and that was through a lot of introspection, self-help books and even various forms of therapy. I still believe that it’s ok to have high standards as well as to set the bar high for myself, and to set a good example in business. But I also believe that I can fail and not flog myself over it. On any given day, it’s far more important to do the best one can do with the set of circumstances one has on that given day. And that ‘best’ will always fluctuate. I’m ok with that.
Perhaps where I diverge from David’s points a bit is that I will never be ok with relaxing standards and not shooting for excellence or trying to achieve one’s own best. I think the latest trend in our culture (especially in the last few decades) has gone so far in the opposite direction from perfectionism so as to have become apathetic. Where’s the motivation to aim for anything higher than mediocrity when everyone gets participation awards? In that context, I’ll never see the healthy kind of perfectionism in a negative light!
David’s article does make the important distinction that “maladaptive perfectionism” can be unhealthy and can lead to anxiety and depression. Putting too much emphasis on performance and unrealistically high expectations can definitely make a person anxious! (I know this anxious part myself from early experience.) And consistently not measuring up to either your own or others’ standards will for sure erode your self-esteem and lead to depression if you have that predisposition. Apparently, from what David cites, performance is linked to sense of self. And maladaptive perfectionists actually feel shame over failing or making mistakes. I must admit, that is one area where I do not have experience, but I can certainly see how that behavior would transpire.
And shame brings me to yet another great column I got the pleasure to edit this month: Healthy Self, Healthy Relationships, by Chris Lewis (pg. 47). There is never an article written by this wonderful therapist and human that doesn’t touch me in some way, mostly because she writes from such a real and personal perspective. But this month, she discusses shame, and in a way I had never even thought about before. It helps explain the shame aspect in David’s article, as well as helped me to understand some relationships in my own life.
From the columns I have mentioned to the ones on finance, health, real estate, travel, lifestyle and local people, I hope there is something of interest to each and every one of you. We appreciate all of our contributors and we will always keep high standards for Serenity, if it’s ok with you.