I don't consider myself a perfectionist. I'm fine with "good enough" for most things. Like cleaning and cooking. When it comes to my writing, though, I want it to be more than good enough. But perfect? Like you said, that doesn't exist anyway. Still, I am a bit of a perfectionist regarding the mechanics because I edit and re-edit. I don't like it when grammar or spelling mistakes get by me, for instance. Which is silly. My daughter told me one time that editing never has an endpoint because we always want to make a piece better. So at some point, I have to just send it out into the world. I imagine it's the same with painting. It's interesting that art has helped you to embrace imperfection. Love that. Perfectionism is overrated anyway!
Your seascape painting is already striking. The colors are magnificent. Can't wait to see the next draft!
Hi Nancy, I think "good enough" works for many things. Your daughter is right -- there is no endpoint in editing, until one finally puts it out into the world, that is. I used to edit and re-edit drafts until I was so exhausted, I couldn't see straight. And the torment that ensued. Awful.
I think it's great that you do send your work out into the world after a period of editing. And, by the way, your writing is so great and definitely error-free, quality work. So your meticulous attention to detail really pays off. We do improve as we focus on maximizing quality.
I believe that perfectionism is the antithesis to creativity. Art has taught me something I've never learned elsewhere: to fail kindly and to succeed boldly.
It’s so refreshing to see you are allowing yourself to let go of perfectionism. When I find myself trying to be perfect, I try to stop and let myself accept what is, as I try to enjoy the process. I love the way you are sharing your works of art as they progress, because they are so beautiful to watch! It’s such a pleasure to observe this beautiful process in motion. Thank you Beth!
Yes, enjoying the process is so key to undoing that plague of perfectionism! It's heartening to find out that you have an effective way of coping with aiming for the unattainable goal of perfection. For me, perfection has killed joy, and I want to create with joy.
Thank you for your comment on my artistic process. I don't really know what has compelled me to share the very process of creating art, to share my drafts. It's kind of a risky venture, but I feel if I fail at an art piece publicly, that maybe I won't harass myself for not succeeding; that maybe I will be kinder to myself, and it's worked! I'm so happy to share my process, and thank you for all your kind words.
I really see myself as part of a community, and that helps me cope immensely.
Beth what a gorgeous seascape! I have been missing sunsets and water and this painting really truly feeds my soul today! Thank you for sharing it.
Your article really hits home. I’ve discovered that the burden of perfection is really ultimately a dream killer. It has stopped me so many times from following thru with a project because I’ve felt I wasn’t good enough. But loving the artistic process and being deeply involved with my creativity has taught me that perfection is an illusion. The idea is to connect with the process and follow that thru, avoiding self judgement, and persisting with the craft.
I love how Brene Brown puts it: “Perfectionism is a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of blame, judgement, and shame…” It feels like we live in this culture where everything is airbrushed to look so perfect when in fact we’re all facing the reality of what it mean to be in this body, in this challenging moment of being fully alive. I’m working on accepting my “flaws” because they make me who I am. Perfectly, imperfectly me. And that’s ok.
Thank you so much for your kind words about my first seascape draft. I can't wait to work on the next draft -- there is something about sunsets and seascapes that is compelling.
I love the Brene Brown quote and what you said about perfection. It's true that goals toward perfection are so harmful. They often lead to paralysis where creativity is concerned, as well as harsh judgement toward ourselves. As creatives, we need to be kind to ourselves and just focus on what we are creating. This is part of self-love and self-care. Feeding our creative souls by focusing on what we create -- not perfection -- is so essential.
And you're right about our culture, airbrushing everything to look perfect. Embracing our imperfections is key because the truth is, nobody is perfect. Perfectionism is an idea, elusive because in reality it doesn't exist.
I love that art has made you less of a perfectionist and allowed you to embrace imperfection. I feel that way about writing and the happy accidents that always surprise me when words come out of nowhere or fit together in ways I hadn’t planned. I love the colors in your seascape and I’m excited to see how it turns out!
Hi Cherie, thank you so much for your comment. Yes, what I said about art and happy accidents applies to writing -- or any creative process for that matter. I think whether we are crafting a written piece, musical work or a visual piece etc., the process is very similar.
Thank you for your comment about the seascape colors. I will be trying my best to make it come alive. :)
Your article made me reflect on how unintentional mistakes can be essential in the creative process. It's fascinating how these 'accidents' often add authenticity and new forms of beauty to a work. Instead of being failures, they become opportunities to explore the unexpected and surpass our own expectations.
I love your painting, the perspective and the colour palette, I like it a lot, I can't wait to see how the new layers come, how those rocks and foaming waves emerge.
Who knows? Maybe the sunset was an 'accident' in the process of creating the union of day and night, and it ended up unexpectedly becoming one of the most beautiful and wonderful phenomena on our planet.
I love your thoughtful comment. You make an excellent point about the sunset in nature being a happy accident. I think this is true. Nature makes happy accidents all the time. It's up to us to notice them.
Thank you so much for your kind words about my painting draft. I so appreciate them.
I really appreciate the way you put it: that these so-called "accidents" give us some freedom to add to an art piece's beauty and "opportunities to explore the unexpected and surpass our own expectations." So well-said.
Thank you again for your readership and comments. I appreciate you!
Letting go allows the flow. Sometimes I’ll let an autocorrect stand because I feel like it’s meant to be
Elizabeth, thank you for your comment. I love that you allow some autocorrects stand!
Hi Beth,
I don't consider myself a perfectionist. I'm fine with "good enough" for most things. Like cleaning and cooking. When it comes to my writing, though, I want it to be more than good enough. But perfect? Like you said, that doesn't exist anyway. Still, I am a bit of a perfectionist regarding the mechanics because I edit and re-edit. I don't like it when grammar or spelling mistakes get by me, for instance. Which is silly. My daughter told me one time that editing never has an endpoint because we always want to make a piece better. So at some point, I have to just send it out into the world. I imagine it's the same with painting. It's interesting that art has helped you to embrace imperfection. Love that. Perfectionism is overrated anyway!
Your seascape painting is already striking. The colors are magnificent. Can't wait to see the next draft!
Hi Nancy, I think "good enough" works for many things. Your daughter is right -- there is no endpoint in editing, until one finally puts it out into the world, that is. I used to edit and re-edit drafts until I was so exhausted, I couldn't see straight. And the torment that ensued. Awful.
I think it's great that you do send your work out into the world after a period of editing. And, by the way, your writing is so great and definitely error-free, quality work. So your meticulous attention to detail really pays off. We do improve as we focus on maximizing quality.
I believe that perfectionism is the antithesis to creativity. Art has taught me something I've never learned elsewhere: to fail kindly and to succeed boldly.
It’s so refreshing to see you are allowing yourself to let go of perfectionism. When I find myself trying to be perfect, I try to stop and let myself accept what is, as I try to enjoy the process. I love the way you are sharing your works of art as they progress, because they are so beautiful to watch! It’s such a pleasure to observe this beautiful process in motion. Thank you Beth!
Hi Susan,
Yes, enjoying the process is so key to undoing that plague of perfectionism! It's heartening to find out that you have an effective way of coping with aiming for the unattainable goal of perfection. For me, perfection has killed joy, and I want to create with joy.
Thank you for your comment on my artistic process. I don't really know what has compelled me to share the very process of creating art, to share my drafts. It's kind of a risky venture, but I feel if I fail at an art piece publicly, that maybe I won't harass myself for not succeeding; that maybe I will be kinder to myself, and it's worked! I'm so happy to share my process, and thank you for all your kind words.
I really see myself as part of a community, and that helps me cope immensely.
Oh this spoke to me Beth!
Hi Marie,
I'm so glad this resonated with you. I'm hoping you are doing well!
Yes I struggle so much with perfectionism so I loved this x
Beth what a gorgeous seascape! I have been missing sunsets and water and this painting really truly feeds my soul today! Thank you for sharing it.
Your article really hits home. I’ve discovered that the burden of perfection is really ultimately a dream killer. It has stopped me so many times from following thru with a project because I’ve felt I wasn’t good enough. But loving the artistic process and being deeply involved with my creativity has taught me that perfection is an illusion. The idea is to connect with the process and follow that thru, avoiding self judgement, and persisting with the craft.
I love how Brene Brown puts it: “Perfectionism is a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of blame, judgement, and shame…” It feels like we live in this culture where everything is airbrushed to look so perfect when in fact we’re all facing the reality of what it mean to be in this body, in this challenging moment of being fully alive. I’m working on accepting my “flaws” because they make me who I am. Perfectly, imperfectly me. And that’s ok.
Hi Gerry,
Thank you so much for your kind words about my first seascape draft. I can't wait to work on the next draft -- there is something about sunsets and seascapes that is compelling.
I love the Brene Brown quote and what you said about perfection. It's true that goals toward perfection are so harmful. They often lead to paralysis where creativity is concerned, as well as harsh judgement toward ourselves. As creatives, we need to be kind to ourselves and just focus on what we are creating. This is part of self-love and self-care. Feeding our creative souls by focusing on what we create -- not perfection -- is so essential.
And you're right about our culture, airbrushing everything to look perfect. Embracing our imperfections is key because the truth is, nobody is perfect. Perfectionism is an idea, elusive because in reality it doesn't exist.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
I love that art has made you less of a perfectionist and allowed you to embrace imperfection. I feel that way about writing and the happy accidents that always surprise me when words come out of nowhere or fit together in ways I hadn’t planned. I love the colors in your seascape and I’m excited to see how it turns out!
Hi Cherie, thank you so much for your comment. Yes, what I said about art and happy accidents applies to writing -- or any creative process for that matter. I think whether we are crafting a written piece, musical work or a visual piece etc., the process is very similar.
Thank you for your comment about the seascape colors. I will be trying my best to make it come alive. :)
Your article made me reflect on how unintentional mistakes can be essential in the creative process. It's fascinating how these 'accidents' often add authenticity and new forms of beauty to a work. Instead of being failures, they become opportunities to explore the unexpected and surpass our own expectations.
I love your painting, the perspective and the colour palette, I like it a lot, I can't wait to see how the new layers come, how those rocks and foaming waves emerge.
Who knows? Maybe the sunset was an 'accident' in the process of creating the union of day and night, and it ended up unexpectedly becoming one of the most beautiful and wonderful phenomena on our planet.
Thanks for sharing your reflection with us.
Hi Javier,
I love your thoughtful comment. You make an excellent point about the sunset in nature being a happy accident. I think this is true. Nature makes happy accidents all the time. It's up to us to notice them.
Thank you so much for your kind words about my painting draft. I so appreciate them.
I really appreciate the way you put it: that these so-called "accidents" give us some freedom to add to an art piece's beauty and "opportunities to explore the unexpected and surpass our own expectations." So well-said.
Thank you again for your readership and comments. I appreciate you!