Focus on creating beauty rather than achieving perfection.
Based solely on my experience talking with other creative people, we all have perfectionism in us. (If you do not, please tell me how you do it….) As I was telling my therapist about how the fear of not being perfect and creating something that falls short of perfection has held me back from following this dream, she dropped this aspiring quote:
“It only needs to be beautiful, not perfect”
95% of what I create in any medium is beautiful to me. Whether it is acrylic art, a floral arrangement, or clothing, I'm not proud of it if I don't find it beautiful in its own way. I have been proud of the art and clothing I've created that contain mistakes. An off-stitch in a knitted hat, a painted skull missing some of its anatomy, a broken branch within a bonsai, pieces I show off proudly to others and take joy in seeing because I find them all beautiful.
This desire for perfectionism has stalled my action to create my dream life. I have the urge to start, but the fear of doing something wrong causes me to pause to delay, which only hurts me. I get frustrated at myself for not moving forward. But reframing the path to following my dream means focusing on creating unique, beautiful items, not perfection; then I can do that.
Beautiful over perfection.
