“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” ~ Julia Cameron
As an artist, just as most creatives, we want to do things perfectly. We want every picture, painting, pot, performance or piece that we create to be the most awesome work we’ve ever done! Regrettably, we are human; which will inevitably get in the way of our perfection pursuit! Often we believe that we need everything to be lined up and perfect because if it’s perfect then everything will work out okay. Almost as if we believe that perfection in our work will keep us from failing. FALSE. Perfectionism squashes and extinguishes our creativity. Creativity is open, free, unique and original, for that to be so, it is inherently imperfect!perfection extinguishes creativity
Right now some of you are thinking “I’m not a perfectionist, you should see my studio!” or “My work is so free and uninhibited, no one could consider me a perfectionist.” We all know though that we all have a certain level of perfectionism in us! In case you don’t know for sure…here are some of the signs….
A Perfectionist Must Plan Everything: leaving little to chance and pay unbelievable attention to the details. This is not in and of itself a bad trait, but for a perfectionist it can very well lead to frustration and anxiety when things do not go as planned.
A Perfectionist Procrastinates: seems contradictory to the last statement, but true none the less! We put off starting a piece or a project because everything is not aligned properly, the conditions aren’t perfect, the timing is wrong and often we allow this to keep us from starting something altogether.
A Perfectioinist Sees In B&W: there is not a lot of grey area for a perfectionist, we can become very judgemental and opinionated, mostly with ourselves…which stifles our creativity.
Do you recognize yourself in any of those statements? I think that if we are perfectly honest with ourselves we of course recognize a portion of us, because as artists and creatives we often start as perfectionist, or become a bit of one because of the nature of our craft.
“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life…” ~Anne Lamott
In our lives as Artist and Creatives we should be striving for success, aspiring to do wonderful things and working to our full potential. We just need to be conscious that we don’t allow those perfectionist traits to derail us, because they can turn from something that initially motives us into something that will immobilize us. If that happens, then we won’t be able to allow the Creative Evil Genius within us shine!
We need to remember that there are not set guidelines or requirements about how our creativity must occur or take form. When we place expectations on the end results of our work (specifically expecting perfection) we turn our creativity into a procedure instead of a process. This discourages us from trying new methods and implementing new ideas into our work – and our lives. It is the simple act of trying new things, working with new ideas, venturing into the unknown or uncertain (where perfection is certainly not guaranteed) that enhances our creativity, which of course improves our amazing works!
Who doesn’t want THAT to happen?? Have you ever imagined that striving for imperfectionwould actually improve the quality of your craft?! It’s almost like a dream come true isn’t it? Knowing it, is the easy part…putting it into practice may be a bit more difficult, but I have faith in all of us!
Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly.
This week’s challenge is to become an IMPERFECTIONIST! What the heck is THAT you say?! Most people do not know what it means to be an Imperfectionist. So, let’s look at it for a moment:
- Imperfectionists are often recovering perfectionists.
- Imperfectionists actually get things done instead of waiting for perfection.
- Imperfectionists know that finishing things IS the reward, not the praise for doing it perfectly.
- Imperfectionists know trying something new won’t require learning EVERYTHING about it first.
- Imperfectionists are never completely overwhelmed because they don’t need things to be impeccable.
Imperfection is actually required to follow your dreams and becoming the person you wish to be. Imperfection is a wonderful, beautiful, freeing way to live. It allows you to be exactly who you are with pride for all of your imperfections and idiosyncrasies and everything else that makes you and your art…YOURS!
There is a term “wabi-sabi” which is the art in finding beauty in imperfection. It means to nurture all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished and nothing is perfect. In Japan the concept is so deeply ingrained that no direct translation exists. Wabi-Sabi reminds us all things on this planet embody growth, transformation, frayed edges, liver spots, rust and all other types of imperfection. Through wabi-sabi we learn to embrace the glory found in the imperfect. Bringing it into our lives doesn’t require training, money or any special skills, it simply takes a mind with the willingness to accept things as they are, to shift the balance from doing to being, to appreciating rather than perfecting. We could all use a bit more wabi-sabi in our lives dontcha think?!
So how do you become an Imperfectionist? Start with the mind of wabi-sabi, and then… You find what you love to do, and you work on it, as often as you can, as best as you can, making the most of each opportunity to engage and enjoy yourself! Yup, it really is that easy!
When you become an Imperfectionist, you not only lower the bar, you remove it all together…because when you do that you allow yourself to create in the moment without judgement or worry. This helps to create more joy with what you are doing which in turns allows you to place all of your creative attention on the project or piece itself without the that Judge Judy in your head, and you end up doing a great job!! You can’t help yourself!
Imperfectionists get things done imperfectly because we learn that we can tweak our process and try again, and we don’t waste time obsessing about the outcome…which leads to a much higher chance of greatness in our work. You come to realize that in your work there are no mistakes. As artists and creatives we know our gift works through us, and the only thing that thwarts that gift is our ego and our minds in judgement. No one wants to thwart their gifts now do they?!!
Therefore your mission this week, should you choose to accept it, is to be an Imperfectionist. Do NOT strive to be perfect, because there is no such thing. Be yourself and do the best you can, be prepared to possibly stumble to even possibly fall. Use any stumbling or falling as stepping stones and lessons. Be imperfect, have fun and love every minute of it, because life it just too short to not!!
If you are worried about starting your imperfection with your craft, start smaller if you like. We can be imperfect in anything and everything!! Here’s the beginning of an imperfect list of imperfect activities that you could do imperfectly this week…..
- Imperfect Bowling
- Imperfect Meditation
- Imperfect Hiking
- Imperfect Dating
- Imperfect Singing
- Imperfect Cooking
- Imperfect Yoga
- Imperfect Swimming
- Imperfect Gardening
- Imperfect Gift Wrapping
Hopefully you will find that it’s easy to be an imperfect, hopefully it will not be a struggle, hopefully you will have fun, open your mind, change your life and be a truly wonderful Imperfectionist!!
Cheers,
JeaneMargherite Meria McMahon Murray Schintgen
(yep, that’s my name, don’t wear it out!)
I would love for you to “check me out” in my other realms…..
