I, since birth, have always let my meticulosity get the better of myself. This has always come out most in my writing. I often put too much effort into making sure my message is formatted in the most correct structure, and that my word choice is consolidating unnecessary detail. In doing so, it just becomes too tangled for other people to read. I've tried, for many years, to look up everything there is about stopping this, but no one seems to have discovered an answer yet. The only people I've found talking about it in this way are the people who, like me, are in need of a solution.

While researching the other day, I came across a description on Quora from an AI Bot at this link that I feel describes my symptoms fairly accurately:

Assistant · Bot said:

Being meticulous can have some disadvantages. For example, it may lead to spending excessive time on tasks, which can be inefficient in some situations. Meticulous individuals may also experience stress and anxiety if they feel they cannot meet their own high standards. Additionally, being overly meticulous can sometimes lead to a lack of flexibility and difficulty in adapting to change.

This hits pretty close to home, but I also feel that user Anonymous better describes my concerns further down the page:

Anonymous said:

perfectionism = unhappiness

I feel this, since I was a little boy. Deadly unhappiness caused by perfectionism. Because I did not have required mental, physical or financial power to be a perfectionist. I was an average one but want max of everything. But as time goes by you learn painfully that there is no perfection. Humiliatings in bussiness or private life, fails at bussiness-earning money, fails at educational life, fails at love, fails, fails, fails....full of pain.

It's like ideal gas theory, you know 'there it is' but you can't reach. It ruins your relations with people also. After a while you become an unkind person who only cares about job's or life perfection not feelings.

And of course perfectionism cause unfinished or never started bussinesses. Also poor quality at completed jobs. Because a perfectionist sees more, understands more than others but mostly not able to finish.

When co-writing with others, I often find that I've hurt their feelings in my frustration and inability to cooperate. And I know I'm not that far into life yet, but I'm just worried that things could snowball like the example above.

My question, plain and simple, is: How do I stop this, or at least mitigate it?

Tom Sloper said:
How many more times are we going to hear from you because you have to post, rather than because you want to?

I actually was just made aware via an announcement this morning that the instructor “was just informed that SNHU no longer wants students using the gamedev.net forums.” I don’t really know why; their loss ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I decided I didn’t really care and that I value you guys’ opinions. It doesn’t feel right just to ask the crummy school discord (filled with only school members.) I want answers from people whom I know I can trust: strangers on the internet.

But seriously, I want people to answer because they want to and because they actually think they can help me. People here have experiences all over, and that can lead to some interesting and insightful perspectives.

At some point, my Microsoft mail will be deleted by the college, in which I’ll probably need to create another account. But when I do get a question that isn’t too “all-encompassing,” I’ll be sure to pop in.🙂

ReignOnU said:
Stop eating carbs,

You watch it!😡

…but thank you; I actually have been trying to fix my diet recently.

@Catomax26 His messages may be a little blunt at times, and I also was a little confused at first, but I don’t find him rude; no. He’s actually been quite helpful to me. His method of communicating his points in this “tough-love” sort of way is helping me feel motivated to improve. Also, he’s been here a long time, and I feel anyone going through forums as he does is bound to lose some of the common courtesies us noobs have. He’s earned it, IMO. Think of him as a sensei.

I'm in the same boat. It's the same school every year, the same terrible, lazy assignment, and every year a new batch of kids doing something stupid and disruptive to the community as a result. Like most of the Internet's discussion boards, the active population dropped over the last decade. It used to not be as annoying, but now it's terrible as additional noise.

I don't blame the students, but it's incredibly annoying.

I already have had bad experiences from graduates of the school, the school is definitely on my “do not recommend” list. So far I haven't disqualified a new hire for it, but I've absolutely dug more deeply in to topical knowledge on job interviews after seeing the school. I've never been impressed. The most knowledgeable fresh graduates I've seen are a traditional CS or BFA program that include an emphasis in game development, rather than a game-centric program.

… As for the topic of breaking perfectionism …

Go outside more, learn to build things with the expectation that they're going to break, and get professional help if it's blocking you. Many schools have a counselling center with free or very cheap psychological help. If this is enough to impair you, either impair your schooling or impair your hopes at career achievement, go talk to the counselling center and get an intake appointment.