By life’s love I mean the thing they love doing, not the person they love.
I was a perfectionist as a programmer. I made damn sure my code was structured to perfection, and the visual appearance of my creations were perfect too. I could not rest until everything lined up perfectly, and every bit of code was indented and spaced perfectly.
I just finished watching ‘the aviator’. I then googled ‘Howard Hughes’ (I’d been intrigued by him before the film but decided to wait until I’d seen the film before looking into his life) One site I found began with a quote
“I am by nature a perfectionist, and I seem to have trouble allowing anything to go through in a half-perfect condition. So if I made any mistake it was in working too hard and in doing too much of it with my own hands.”
Seeing this (or rather the first part up to ‘condition.’) inspired this thread. (well, also the fact that the phrase ‘I’m a perfectionist’ is surprisingly commonly heard)
I have many loves, but I’m certainly far from a perfectionist. For me life (and my real loves, music and education) is a creative work, and I have no bar with which to measure perfection. Plus, with specific regards to music, I know there will always be people who are more perfect than I; perfection isn’t my goal, communication is.
An artist might strive for perfection, but I’m striving for effectiveness. That goes beyond just the final product. If I’m going to be effective, I have to meet a deadline and budget. Compromises must be made.
If I’m a perfectionist about anything, it’s in looking for the “perfect” balance of quality, time and budget that makes the most effective outcome.
I’m an engineer, and I’ve been surprised at the past to find even people passionate about engineering, and good engineers, are not necessarily perfectionists.
People have different personalities. Some of them, even if they are passionate about their work, are not “details” people, or perfectionists. They may be creative types that get joy out of being different and new; or big idea types; or they get joy out of seeing things completed, even if not perfect (sounds similar to kunilou, perhaps), or have any one of a number of other priorities.
So I think, no, everyone is not a perfectionist about their life’s love.