Why perfectionism is such a huge creative block
Perfectionism is a huge creative block, and a bad mix with creativity, as creativity is about mistakes and imperfect work, and entrepreneurship is about not pleasing everyone. Houston, we have a problem!
I had no clue I was a perfectionist until I trained as a Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach. No clue. It was a complete revelation. Many things suddenly made sense to me, like my self-criticism, why I didn’t write/create consistently, and stuff in the past I hadn’t done because of being afraid of what others thought of me. Damn!
“Peace of mind and creative freedom come with the release of perfection.”
Why perfectionism is such a huge creative block
Perfectionism is the fear of not being good enough. It’s a protective mechanism, a way of overcompensating for covering up all our faults. The ones we believe we have.
A perfectionist is so afraid of making mistakes and failing, that she convinces herself it’s not worth trying in the first place. Or she throws herself at it with great enthusiasm but when it doesn’t go perfectly, she gets incredibly self-critical and gives up.
Creativity and business are both processes, with ups and downs, fails and wins, so to believe you can avoid making mistakes, not having failed launches, not enough sales, etc., is just not realistic. It’s a natural part of the process.
Perfectionism is particularly damaging to female entrepreneurs, as we already have to fit into a well-defined box of how we should behave, imperfection not being an option.
Please don’t criticize yourself for criticizing yourself. Your perfectionism is not your fault, as it usually comes from childhood. We’re all afraid of something and we all have hangups and struggles. This is why self-love and compassion are the foundation pillars of my creativity coaching.
It matters how you work, and if you work with self-kindness, you won’t mind continuing.
How perfectionism has affected me
Personally, perfectionism has kept me playing small when it comes to owning my knowledge. It has meant I haven’t shown myself and shared my knowledge publicly. It has kept me frustrated, and at times feeling lost. Maybe worst of all, it stopped me from pursuing creative work when I was young.
I have also worked in jobs where the perfectionism of one or more colleagues has created a culture of fear and scarcity. With devastating results. Some of those results have been people being sick with stress, and going to work every day, feeling they could never live up to expectations. Just awful.
“Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best. Perfectionism is not about healthy achievement and growth. Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfectly, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame. It’s a shield. Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from taking flight.
Perfectionism is not self-improvement. Perfectionism is, at its core, about trying to earn approval and acceptance. Somewhere along the way, we adopt this dangerous and debilitating belief system: I am what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it. Please, perform, perfect. Healthy striving is self-focused - How can I improve? Perfectionism is other-focused - What will they think?”
How you can begin to work through perfectionism
I believe the road from being afraid of not being good enough to self-acceptance begins with practicing self-compassion
As a creative entrepreneur, you have to share your product or service with the world. And some people will criticize you, and disagree with you, and some people simply won’t like you. That’s hard, really hard. But if you expect it to happen, if you expect rejection, maybe the fear of being criticized is reduced, and the expectation will set you free.
Is perfectionism blocking your creative process?
Hop on over to my contact page and let me know in the form what you need help with. I’d love to help you find your own personal process.
