Perfection
Perfection stunts progress
I am a recovering perfectionist. I never thought of myself as a perfectionist because I never really cared what grades I got in school as long as I got a B or higher. But once I started working on projects for myself, things that I loved and cared about, I became a bit fanatical about making sure everything was perfect. Since I put so much effort into it, any critique felt like a personal slight and I’d get really defensive about it. Until one of my friends said he was getting a tattoo that said “Progress, not perfection.” At first, I thought that was the dumbest thing ever because who wouldn’t just want perfection? But as I’ve gotten older and gained the perspective of life experience, I now feel that phrase deep within my core.
Perfection steals progress away from us. If we are too scared to put our work into the world until it’s perfect, then we are holding back from sharing our gifts with others. Whenever I’m talking to other writers who want to publish their own book but are scared it isn’t good enough, I ask them is it the best it can be right now? Because if the answer is yes, then that is more than enough. If we are living our lives in a healthy way, then we are always going to learn more and become better than we are today. I always say that while I try my best with every book, painting, embroidery, whatever it is, the second it’s over, I’ve already become a smarter, more talented person than I was when I started because that project contributed to my growth. Does that mean I abandon what I’ve done and start over? Absolutely not. Your work deserves to be seen and recognized! And you are so brave for putting yourself out there, knowing that though you want things to be as perfect as they can, you are not letting perfectionism hold you back.
If you want to start overcoming perfectionism, start by simply being kind to yourself. There are studies showing perfectionism can be a learned behavior, but it can also be genetic. So acknowledge that there’s nothing wrong with you, and you’re functioning perfectly according to the lot you were given in life. Then, acknowledge that nothing will be perfect, so just do it anyway. Perfectionism causes us to freeze in our lives and robs us of the ability to chase our dreams. When you kindly give yourself permission to do something, knowing that you are making progress towards your goals, you start to heal from perfectionism.
If possible, try embracing imperfection. Remember that you are human and not being perfect is part of the human experience. If everything were perfect all the time, it would lose the beautiful unpredictability of life. Imperfection makes things interesting. I recently heard someone talking about art and they said, “If I wanted it to look exactly like the real thing, I’d go buy a photograph. I want to know how the artist sees it and interprets it.” That means creating an “imperfect” yet beautiful representation of whatever they are creating, and that makes the art perfect in its own wonderful way.
You can do that too! Think of a part of your life where perfectionism is holding you back. Can you put a little bit more of yourself into it and show it to the world, even if it means facing your greatest fears of imperfection? Can you put your focus into the process of what you’re doing instead of the end product? When we let ourselves get caught up in the moment, in the flow of creation, then that’s what’s really important. If you can do that and put your whole self into it, then it’s already “perfect.”
