Pursuing Perfectionism | Turning A Struggle Into A Success

Inspiration

Aug 1

As artists, we are all under constant criticism, especially from ourselves. Social media shows the highlights of everyone’s lives making the comparison game all too easy for us to join in.

Lately, I’ve felt the pressure to hit a grand slam in everything that I create. This idea of being perfect has hindered my growth.

So rather than running away, I decided to tackle my problem head-on by making this video talking about the process and struggles I’ve faced.

Facing My Biggest Struggle Head On

Pursuing perfection has always been crippling to me…

And attacking a major weakness like this was tough.

As an artist, I relate to the struggle of not finishing…

Or in some cases, even attempting a project because I worry too much about it not being as good as my last piece of work.

This mind game has crippled me into not taking on as many projects as I’d like to.

Making this video was therapy—I was able to open up, be vulnerable, and get this idea of pursuing perfectionism out of my system.

I knew there would be people who would be able to relate to this, but I didn’t know how many people would reach out to me saying how it inspired them.

A lot of people thanked me for this, which I wasn’t expecting.

(See the extremely kind and supportive screenshots at the end.)

There were a few things I normally would have changed or redone…

But I wrapped this up and hit publish by staying within the theme of:

It doesn’t have to be perfect.

The Script That Faced My Fear

I’d love to share the script below that helped me turn this crippling fear into a form of therapy.

“I've been struggling a lot lately...creatively.

Every day I have this process of Waking up. Meditation. Preparing for the day.

I start the day off great, but at some point, throughout the day my momentum crumbles.

My problem is that I think about the end product too much.

I think about the edit before I even get started: How the music, SFX, and sequences will work together? How will people react to it? What brands will catch on to this video? Will it catapult my career forward so I can keep pursuing this seemingly endless path toward my dreams?

I have no idea where it came from, but I have this overwhelming pressure to hit a grand slam every at-bat.

Like every video I make has to be better than the next one.

It's taken the joy and excitement of bringing something to life that no one else can see but me.

Flow is something people find through nature, art, extreme sports and so much more.

I know the feeling…or at least I did.

The pursuit of perfection has stripped me of my potential.

I've lost the flow of creating art with friends.

I’ve lost the joy and excitement it brought me and the energy I absorbed, even when I was lacking sleep.

Creating has been my drug…

I 100% know that pursuing perfectionism has been holding me back.

People talk about the importance of the journey, not the destination.

I know that…

But like a well-worn path, I've focused on the outcome so much that the well-paved road of enjoying the process has been overgrown by bushes that it's hard for me to push through.

I love the process and the flow of creating but...it's often that…I can't start.

I've been dwelling too much on the outcome and end result.

The thought of how hard that may be or how long it will take makes it very hard for me just to start.

Start writing words, create a shot list, and reach out to people to jump on board and collaborate with.

Writing these words down helps because I know so many other people can relate to pursuing perfectionism.

However, I know it's something that everyone who goes through this has a hard time discussing.

A friend of mine told me that every day her yoga instructor starts the class with:

"I want to applaud all of you for showing up. You've gotten through the hardest part and now it's time to reap your reward."

I really resonate with that.

It's a much more updated way of saying something cliche like a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single footstep.

I think about the wisdom of that yoga instructor and realize it applies to every action of everyday life.

That this crippling fear of pursuing perfectionism has prevented me from showing up.

It robbed me of expressing myself, my ideas, and my passions.

Perfectionism is something that is unattainable, yet something I've been grasping for.

Maybe deep down it's the fear of failure or the fear of not impressing people with my work.

As I continue to search, I realize this video isn't perfect…

But at least I showed up.

Conclusion

I hope by me sharing my pursuit of progress over perfection, that you too are in a position to show up for yourself and reap the reward of your efforts.

I hope you also see how therapeutic it can be create through your crippling struggles.

If this Video Journal resonated with you, I’d love to hear about it so I can add it to the comments below for me to look back on when perfection tries to hold my progress hostage!