Freedom to Fail

Cheers to all the perfectionists.

If you don't know what that means, you aren't one. A perfectionist is someone who demands perfection in themselves and especially in their work. At the worst case scenario, a perfectionist can also demand perfection in their surroundings, environment, and friends, and it can become crippling. At the best, a perfectionist can nearly drop a project entirely when they make a mistake.

If you know you're a perfectionist, it's probably because you've heard people say "just let it go" and "why is this bugging you?" or even "it's not that big of a deal" all your life. Why? Because at the core of perfectionism, your standard for excellence is higher than your peers, and they just don't understand that. Before I go on with the dangers of perfectionism, I want you to hear me: don't you ever lower your standard for excellence. It's high for a reason. Because you are the only one that can reach that height. It's not an unattainable goal, and it certainly won't be perfect, but it's excellence. Be proud of that.

Now, perfectionism can also be paralyzing. Either an idea never moves from your mind because you are too afraid to put mistake-caked hands to a perfect image in your mind, or the idea moves to creation, and there has already been a mistake. The former is a paralyzing fear of failure, and the second is a devastating reality of failure. I don't know from where the idea of perfection came in our society, but there is a simple cure. In fact, the cure is the ailment: mistakes.

You don't have to be perfect.

If you want to make art perfect, then you are in the wrong field. Art is a firsthand representation of humanity, and humanity, you guessed it, is flawed. Therefore, art will have mistakes. Do you think Da Vinci didn't make a mistake when he painted the Mona Lisa, that his hand didn't shake at least once? The reason the Mona Lisa exists is because Da Vinci allowed the possibility of mistakes and created something beautiful, a famous masterpiece. He also had years of experience which is a fancy way of saying, he made some mistakes. By that point, he knew how to deal with the mistakes or how to not make them. Being a master at something doesn't mean you never make mistakes, it only means you know what to do when you encounter them.

Perfectionism is a gift and a curse. You will fight for all you can to reach that standard of excellence, but you have to be okay with not being perfect. In other words, make a mistake. I guarantee you, if you make a mistake, it will either end up being the most significant piece of your masterpiece that you wouldn't change for the world or you will simply learn from it and move on. You don't have to make mistakes, but you are allowed to.

So pick up that novel you've been working on, that painting you've been thinking about, or that tune you've been humming. Then go to your safe place, close the door, and create. In that room, there is no judgement. You can make whatever mistake you want, and it's not any less art than when you began. It's amazing what you'll find you can do behind closed doors. You discover the freedom to fail. And something beautiful emerges--it always does.

And then, when you've mastered the freedom to fail, open the door, let the world in...

And fail some more.