You don't have to be perfect to be brilliant
How your perfectionism kills creativity - and what to do about it
Hello gorgeous you,
If your ability to do something relies on it being perfect then you're going to be waiting a really, REALLY long time.
The road to success is often messy, LIFE is messy. We cock things up, do the wrong thing, mistake a good idea for a crap one and take too long to notice!
If you think YOU as person have to be perfect, then that's even more stifling. There's no such thing as being perfect, and we don't have to be perfect to push ourselves further, to 'level up'. But we do have to be seen, visible and in action.
Sometimes we don’t recognise our mindset as being a perfectionist one, we just see it as striving for our best, wanting to do the right thing. If you are wondering about this, look at the FIVE ways that perfectionism can show up and be killing your creativity:
Fear of Failure
We looked at this yesterday. Perfectionism instills a fear of making mistakes or failing, which will often put a halt to our creative efforts. When we fear failure, we avoid taking risks or trying new ideas which is the absolute bedrock of creative thinking and doing.
Procrastination
When we need things to be perfect, we procrastinate. We wait for the "perfect" moment or conditions to start or complete our project. Laundry never looked so good as when we are contemplating a leap off creativity cliff! As a result, our work is delayed or maybe never completed, stalling our creative progress and productivity.
Lack of Experimentation
Even though experimentation is at the heart of creativity and growth, our perfectionist mindset often avoid experimentation because it involves uncertainty. But without taking this risk, new ideas and creative breakthroughs are so much less likely to occur.
Self-Criticism
When we focus on perfection, we will almost always fall short, which leads to self-criticism, thoughts of never being good enough. Over time, this constant negative feedback can chips away at our confidence and motivation and creativity is stifled further.
Overemphasis on Outcome
Instead of embracing the creative journey in all its messy glory, when we hook into a perfect outcome, we make it all about the end result rather than the creative process itself. And when we do that, the joy of creating is lost, making the entire process feel stressful, constrained, rather than an enjoyable exploration of ideas.
So much of this is explore in the latest Selfish Bookclub book, Playing Big by Tara Mohr, so if you suspect your creativity and growth is being held back by a need to be perfect and in control, why not join me for this thoughtful, slow exploration of your mindset and how it can start working for, not against you?
This time around The Selfish Bookclub includes:
🌿Regular downloadable resources based on the ideas in the book to help you learn more deeply
🌿Three live and recorded workshops along themes included in the book
🌿Two bookclub chat sessions for those who want to listen to and express ideas and what they are learning from the book.
Being in the club and spending time with this book could be the best thing you've done for yourself all year! We start on 9 August.
The bookclub is part of my membership group, Gather & Grow. I'd love to have you in the club! It's just £7.50 a month or £65 for an annual membership. You'll also get access to all the resources for the book we are just finishing up (BIG MAGIC by Elizabeth Gilbert) and be invited to monthly journaling sessions too.
I hope you choose to join me!
Imperfectly yours and with love,