Why perfectionism is killing your cycling career
Perfectionism is often seen by elite cyclists as a positive character trait, something to be spoken about with a certain pride. “I have to execute my training perfectly, down to the minute,” or “If I spend less time on the bike than my plan says, I’m not allowed to feel satisfied,” or “I must sleep more than eight hours a night or I can’t perform.”
Sure, perfectionism as an elite cyclist can take you far, but it can also get seriously in your way. It can make you never feel satisfied and lose yourself in the details. The trick is to strive for the maximum without beating yourself up over it. It’s a tricky balance, and in this blog I want to help you understand how to find it.
What is perfectionism?
Perfectionism is the tendency to set extremely high standards—usually for yourself, but often for those around you as well. As a cyclist you expect the maximum from yourself and refuse to settle for less, both in training and in competition. We can distinguish three components of perfectionism: perfectionistic striving, perfectionistic concern, and self-criticism. This immediately shows a clear divide between when perfectionism can be a positive trait and when it becomes less desirable.
Advantages of perfectionism as a cyclist
Perfectionistic striving
With perfectionistic striving, you—the cyclist—focus on getting the absolute most out of yourself during sport. You want to take on the challenge of improving yourself and beating others. The benefits of this include:
Discipline
Perfectionistic cyclists stick to their training plans with great precision. They’ll train exactly the number of hours on the schedule—if not more. And they won’t give up easily!
Focus on the details
By focusing on details, these cyclists work hard to optimise every single component. They’ll take every half percent they can get. As a result, they can stay ahead of the competition.
Striving to improve
Seeing progress and improvement in their results is a key driver for perfectionists. This keeps them motivated to learn and study—and they tend to ask a lot of questions.
Disadvantages of perfectionism in cyclists
Perfectionistic concern
Although perfectionistic striving is a desirable trait for elite cyclists, it often comes with negative side effects. One of these is worry—either in the lead-up to an important race or during training—about whether you’re doing things “right.”
Fear of mistakes
Perfectionists are often driven at their core by fear. “I have to execute my training perfectly, otherwise…” Otherwise I’m afraid I’m not good enough. Instead of being driven by growth, enjoyment, or curiosity, a perfectionist is, deep down, driven by the fear of making mistakes. “If I don’t do this perfectly, then… I fail as a cyclist—or as a person.”
High pressure to perform
This creates enormous pressure to perform. When you don’t perform from a place of ease and enjoyment but from a fear of failing—as a cyclist or as a person—every performance becomes a danger, a chance to fail. While this can sometimes help you stay sharp, in the long run it poses a serious threat to your self-worth and confidence, and it doesn’t benefit your performance either.
Rumination
When you raise the pressure and set the bar so high, you can end up spending 24/7 trying to do everything perfectly. That leaves too little room to relax, and your body rarely enters a fully restful state.
As a result, your sleep quality goes down, stress levels go up, and you ruminate a lot—replaying the same threatening situation or outcome in your head over and over without being able to change it. You worry about a negative outcome and its consequences. This is different from visualisation.
Self criticism and self blame
Where perfectionistic striving and perfectionistic concern come before delivering a performance, self-criticism only shows up afterwards—after a race or a training session that, in your view, wasn’t executed well.
Difficulty accepting compliments
What feels imperfect—or like failure—to you as a perfectionist can be a great performance to others. This is why, as a perfectionist, it’s difficult—almost impossible—to accept compliments about your performance. You think people don’t mean it, or you don’t really take their praise seriously.
As a result, you rarely pause to acknowledge what you’ve achieved, and you almost never draw energy and confidence from your results. Over time, this completely drains you and can lead to burnout. Your enjoyment fades, and you’re likely to quit your sport much sooner than others.
Social comparison
Social comparison in self-criticism among perfectionists refers to their tendency to constantly compare themselves to others—often in ways that cast their own performance or qualities in a negative light. This can happen in several ways:
Upward comparison – Perfectionists compare themselves to people who perform better or are more successful. This often leads to feelings of inadequacy and self-criticism, because they feel they’re not good enough.
Downward comparison – Sometimes perfectionists compare themselves to people who perform less well, but instead of gaining confidence from this, it can create extra pressure: “I can’t fail, or I’ll end up in that group.”
Selective comparison – They often focus only on the best aspects of others and ignore their own successes or context, which creates a distorted picture.
Tip to deal with perfectionism
In cycling, perfectionism can have major consequences. Although there are definite benefits to perfectionistic striving, research has shown that perfectionism needs to be managed carefully by the cyclist if the pros are to outweigh the cons.
The biggest tips I can give you are to become aware of your thought patterns and beliefs around your performances. Where do you set the bar, how much pressure do you put on yourself, and how do you handle a poor result? If you can reduce the pressure you put on yourself and cope with a less-than-ideal outcome, you’ve got a strong recipe for success as an elite cyclists.
Can’t get there on your own? Then book a no-obligation Mindset Scan below. In 30 minutes, we’ll explore how I can help—and you’ll walk away with a concrete tool to start using right away.
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My name is Lex Ligtenberg, and I’m a sports psychologist for cyclists. My life’s purpose is to help ambitious riders get the most out of themselves and their careers through mental training. That way, you can unlock your potential and chase your dreams—knowing you’re doing everything you can!
I created a free e-book on the 4 most essential mental tools for cyclists. This way I can help you shift your mindset and unlock your potential as a cyclist
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