It’s not that simple
It’s not that simple is a podcast by Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation dedicated to major interviews with international personalities linked to politics, economy, and society. Conducted by renowned journalist Pedro Mendonça Pinto, the conversations with our special guests aim to demystify and simplify some of the most fascinating and relevant topics of our time. They will be objective, frontal, informal and informed dialogues to clarify why some issues «are not that simple».
The Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation was founded in 2009 by Alexandre Soares dos Santos and his family to study the country’s major hindrances and bring them to the attention of the Portuguese people. The Foundation’s mission is to promote and expand the objective knowledge of Portugal today, thereby helping to develop society, strengthen the rights of citizens and improve public institutions and to cooperate in endeavors to identify, study and resolve society's problems. The Foundation is independent of political organizations and has no ideological affiliation with any political party. Its work is guided by the principles of human dignity and social solidarity and the values of democracy, freedom, equal opportunities, merit, and pluralism. www.ffms.pt
It’s not that simple
PERFECTIONISM, with Thomas Curran
«If you look at the amount of spending that's going on right now, on self-optimisation, on self-help and self-improvement, we're at record levels. There’s never been more spending on these books, on these courses, on these coaching sessions… and at the same time, people have never been more miserable, more depressed and anxious».
The warning is given by Thomas Curran, a British psychologist and expert in perfectionism, who is concerned about the rapid growth of this phenomenon and the health problems it triggers.
In this episode of «It's not that simple», the professor from the London School of Economics explains that perfectionism is not defined by «extremely high» personal standards or by «high levels of striving to achieve them», but also by the insecurity that is the fire that goes underneath those high standards.
Behind the extreme demands, there are always doubts as to whether we are sufficient, if we are capable of being up to it, he underlines. «This is huge and a cause for concern because perfectionist insecurities and concerns are very tightly correlated with mental health difficulties».
An award-winning researcher, Curran shares details that show how perfectionist trends have been increasing since the end of the last century. «High levels of striving, something called ‘self-oriented perfectionism’ – perfectionism that comes from within, high self-set goals and standards – are increasing relatively modestly but, nevertheless, from a very high baseline», he reveals.
At the same time, socially prescribed perfectionism – which has to do with the way other people expect me to be perfect - «is on an exponential trend upwards» mainly among the younger generations.
This trend has shot up around 60% since the late 1980s. Nowadays, there is a lot of need for approval and validation from the «other», «now we rely on other people's engagement, likes and mentions for our own self-esteem», he adds.
Nowadays, it’s not a question of just showing off material goods, but also one of showing off all your hard work and professional success. «How hard we can work, how much we can hustle or what we can build – all of this fuels the economy», but, on the other hand, it leads to burnout. «This is a very different type of showing off, but it is no less difficult psychologically, because you’re never going to be the perfect hustler, the perfect grinder».
Maybe it's time to counteract this pressure. «Great thinkers taught us something very important: contemplation. Sitting down and reading, thinking, that is exceptionally non-productive behaviour in the short term, but could be incredibly productive in the long term», he concludes.