The Imperfect Perfectionist

“I’m a perfectionist”, a sentiment I have heard numerous times over my life, and one that I have often identified myself with as well. As creatives, designers, or whatever category you may identify yourself with, we have a natural tendency to self-torment and be hyper critical about the work we are doing to a point of self-detriment. There’s something in the statement that alludes to a false sense of grandeur or certainty, when in reality it is usually rooted in insecurity and self-doubt. It is a limiting factor; Ironically, perfectionism does not advance anything. 

From personal experience I can attest to the fact that I have asked myself multiple times is the work that I am doing worth the risk, and does it even amount to where the inspiration came from in the first place? By allowing thought processes as such to fester, I can also attest to allowing myself to become a victim of procrastination. As a creative and also just as a human being, I’ve had to learn to come to the understanding that there is no one right away to go about my career, but by robbing myself of the opportunity to fail, I will never achieve the success or recognition that I am striving for.

Fall in love with the process of repetition and refinement. You will never truly know what works until you simply do the work. Every creative person has had an idea in a moment that they felt was a truly good idea but did not execute because of fear of perfectionism. In reality it is by the body of work, and amount that you put out, that you will truly be judged by. You must allow yourself to make mistakes, to be criticized by your peers to know if what you are doing is even making an impact. 

The imperfect perfectionist, although aware of their flaws, does not allow it to fully dictate their process. There is some value in being a perfectionist, but it must come with a level of emotional maturity that can be lacking in a lot of people struggling with perfectionism. A major quality in emotional maturity is having motivation, the ability to continue to persevere or stay resilient in the face of setbacks, upsets, or disappointments. When faced with such challenges, a perfectionist will often fold under pressure, put on pause, or cancel an entire project because a wrench in the process divulged from their idea of being flawless. 

It is also ironic how as creatives we can limit ourselves to one genre of creativity, and don’t allow ourselves to expand to other realms of expression. As creatives, many of us chose this route of work to escape the confinements of a traditional workspace. Just because you work in a marketing department, does not mean that you cannot have ideas in apparel or photography. The real world essentially has no boundaries if you strive to reach for them. The perfectionist mindset cultivates those limiting spaces, keeping us in our comfort zones when we should be limitless. Seek a genre less space to thrive and excel in which you can apply your current disciplines to new ideas. 

Battling perfectionism will require a level of self-reflection that can be uncomfortable. You will have to look at yourself and ask why it is that you like the things that you like as far as creativity? What are the emotions that are conveyed to you first? If no real emotion is coming from you while producing your own work, why expect others to feel anything at all when you put your work out? Be aware of one's own self-esteem, remember that you are good enough and not inadequate in the things you are striving for.