Embracing Imperfection in Creative Work and Business
Embracing imperfection in creative work and business is a great way to stay creatively inspired and avoid creative blocks.
Embracing imperfection in your creative work and in your business - if you have one - is a useful mindset, so as not to let perfectionism or thoughts about having to get everything right before you launch, stop you. If you embrace imperfection as natural, you’ll have more creative freedom and an open mindset.
Perfectionism is a fear that kills more dreams, businesses, and joyful lives, than I believe is countable.
Perfectionism is a fear of not ever being good enough in your own eyes and in the eyes of everyone else; your family, your friends, co-workers, and the haters on social media.
Embracing imperfection in creative work
Creative freedom is hugely important to me, but I know what it’s like to let perfectionism destroy my creative dream. I now call myself a recovering perfectionist, I still struggle with this fear of what other people think of me. I still struggle with starting before I’m ready. Because I’m never ready. I still think I have to know EVERYTHING about a subject before I can possibly create a course on it. So I buy more books and learn more. All the time. And I’m trained in dealing with perfectionism professionally. Perfectionism is connected to your self-worth and is something you probably have to keep working on to overcome.
Creativity is imperfect, business is imperfect and life is imperfect. Also, my friend, you’re imperfect. We all are. And as much as we might know this, so many of us let perfectionism rule (and sometimes ruin) our lives and our businesses.
But if building an imperfect creative business is your goal, your mindset shifts. Imperfection becomes the guideline. So, every blog post, your web design, your copy, your products, all of it can be good enough and imperfect.
“Imperfection is not a compromise”
Imperfection is not the opposite of perfection
Imperfection, in the dictionary, means a flaw, and words related to imperfection are weakness, inadequacy, defect, and deformity. Perfection in the dictionary means completeness, supreme excellence. It’s not hard to see which word we prefer to aim for.
But if you look at the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi you get a different view of what imperfection is.
In her wonderful book “Wabi-Sabi”, Beth Kempton explains, that the imperfection Wabi Sabi teaches us, is based on the rules of nature which are always changing, and therefore are never complete. Nothing stays the same.
Imperfection is not a road to perfection, but more an acceptance that we don’t know it all, and that we don’t need to know it all. We know enough.
It’s accepting that we don’t have it all, but that we don’t need to have it all. We have enough.
Imperfection is about being vulnerable enough to open our hearts, to let people see who we really are.
Looking at it this way, I think imperfection is the most beautiful thing in the world and a worthy goal in itself.
Your creative work and business is not for everybody
A beautiful thing about imperfection with the Wabi-Sabi mindset is how Beth describes it in her book, “I am not all things to all people, but I don’t need to be all things to all people. I’m doing my best to be all I can be to those who really matter. I am enough”.
Isn’t that beautiful?
The main trigger for perfectionism is the fear of what other people think of us. We want to be liked, of course, we do. But you can’t be all things to all people. And you destroy yourself trying. Your creative business is not for everyone. This is such an important truth to understand. Difficult, but oh so freeing!
Building a business is vulnerable, scary, and an imperfect, ever-changing process from start to finish. Except you never reach the finish line, unless you close shop.
If you look at your creative business adventure as an imperfect beautiful journey full of mistakes, failures, and change, you’re more likely to continue and actually enjoy the process. It takes the pressure off, that you put on yourself.
Forget about perfect. It doesn’t exist. Just as being liked and respected by everybody doesn’t exist either. And that’s OK. You’re enough as you are.
What is an imperfect creative business?
An imperfect business is not a bad, crappy business with bad service, bad design, or bad products. It also doesn’t mean you don’t have ambitions or want to do the best you can, for yourself and your customers.
An imperfect business is one built with the wabi-sabi-inspired mindset that everything is impermanent, imperfect, and incomplete. Which is a great match for the multi-passionate entrepreneur. :-)
For the multi-creative entrepreneur, interests and knowledge change. And maybe a little quicker than for other people. Wabi-sabi teaches us to see the beauty in the incomplete and imperfect. This is a calm and gentle way to live and do business.
Nothing stays the same in life or business, and if we learn to accept this and go with the flow on this incomplete creative journey it is to build a business, we’ll be able to ease up and relax in the knowledge that change is inevitable.
I don’t actually think a multi-passionate business is much different from other businesses. All businesses have to change in order to stay up-to-date and current. A business, creative or otherwise, is never complete, so with this mindset, you can relax. Be free. Accept that you know enough right now to do good work.
I realize it can be scary to announce to the world you’re okay with imperfection. It’s not exactly the message we’re spoon-fed from early childhood, is it?
Most people will think you’re selling yourself short. But you’re not. You’re actually being realistic, kind to yourself, and mindful. That is something to be proud of.
Imperfection is definitely not a compromise.
Hey, thanks for reading my blog post. I hope it makes you feel good and a little inspired.
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