The Evaluating Your Demanding Standards worksheet is designed to help clients re-evaluate their demanding standards and develop more flexible and helpful guidelines for their performance.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.
Many individuals impose demanding standards across various life areas, such as work, relationships, and self-presentation. Though these can sometimes lead to success and reward, they often result in negative emotional, social, and behavioral consequences. The Exploring Your Demanding Standards worksheet is designed to help clients examine a demanding standard, including its advantages and disadvantages. This can highlight the negative consequences of pursuing high standards and motivate clients to experiment with adjusting their self-imposed rules.
Exploring Your Demanding Standards invites clients to examine the high expectations they place on themselves.
Characterized by rigid, self-imposed standards and a fear of making mistakes.
Inflexible standards that contribute to excessive worry and avoidance.
Perfectionism exacerbates feelings of inadequacy and failure.
High standards concerning eating, shape, and weight.
Use the worksheet to identify a demanding standard the client sets for themselves.
Explore the origin and impact of the standard.
Weight up the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing the standard.
Guide clients to reflect on whether to maintain or adjust their standard.
Individuals can set demanding high standards in almost any life domain, including their work, appearance, bodily hygiene, social and romantic relationships, eating habits, health, time management, hobbies, leisure activities, sports, orderliness, and several others (Stoeber & Stoeber, 2009). Striving to meet demanding standards can be a rewarding process and lead to significant gains (e.g., praise, social status, financial rewards, etc.). However, demanding standards can also have adverse consequences and cause emotional (e.g., depression), social (e.g., isolation), and behavioral (e.g., procrastination) difficulties (Egan et al., 2014).
