Being a perfectionist

I often hear people say that they are perfectionists. They spend countless hours working on a project to take it to a self-determined standard. When they describe the process it sounds like there is an exacting price to pay for this quality. I once heard that, if a person was truly a perfectionist, he or she would see the perfection in each circumstance or person around them at that very moment. Of course we know that people and circumstances change, hopefully in a positive direction. Perhaps a different way to phrase the idea of being a perfectionist is to affirm that you are always striving for perfection. That gives you breathing space to be human and yet work towards achieving the standards that you set. How do you view perfectionism in your life?