Key points

Perfectionists tend to view confidence as a means to an end, thereby devaluing it.

When self-doubt is perceived as a weakness, we may justify hiding it, pretending we know more than we do.

In moderate amounts, self-doubt is prosocial because it indicates a high degree of responsibility.

Perfectionism is an illusion for several reasons. The first involves the belief that perfection exists. The second involves the belief that one is special enough to be able to achieve it. And the third is the overconfidence involved in what one believes they know and/or can know. Perfectionism is self-esteem run amok, even if one doesn’t consciously say or even believe they’re perfect. Their sense of their own flawlessness is exhibited through the plethora of instances in which they’re unwi

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