Perfectionism is Holding You Back

How do you know if the drive for perfectionism is holding you back? The truth of the matter is…it usually does.

Perfectionism is often touted as something to be proud of, something to strive for. More often than not, perfectionism is holding you back from reaching your goals.

To be perfectly honest, I am guilty of this too.

It’s human nature, I think, to strive for something so lofty and out of reach as perfection. The tricky part of that is that I think a vast majority won’t even begin to try because it is so lofty. Why try if falling short is inevitable?

In thinking this way, they miss the point.

The joy is in the journey.

The idea of perfectionism is holding you back from exploring. It prevents you from learning and experiencing new things. It discourages one from even trying for fear of making mistakes. As if that were such a terrible thing.

There is no shame in making mistakes. There are however, lessons to be learned in each one. Those lessons are invaluable, not embarrassing. And they’re certainly not indicative of failure.

Failure only happens if you quit.

And who says a drawing or painting has to be perfect anyway? If slapping some paint on a canvas makes you happy, then do it! If all you can manage right now is silly doodles, but it brings you joy, then do it!

Make art for art’s sake. In the process, every time you do it, you gain experience and confidence. That’s hardly a bad thing!

Get perfectionism out of your head and instead wrap your mind around getting better. Improvement. There’s no shortage of really great and inexpensive online art classes these days. Take one. Go at your own pace. Even if you don’t take a class, practice as often as possible.

Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes better. And that’s a beautiful thing. That means there is always room for improvement.

How exciting is that?

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