How high of a standard do you hold yourself to?
I am too often a pursuer of absolute perfection – refusing to accept anything less creates an extraordinary amount of pressure, not to mention a whole bevy of excuses as to why nothing at all gets done (thus leaving me stalled and frustrated.)
Well, if I had this camera which is way nicer/more expensive. But I never learned how to do that. But last time it didn’t work out how I wanted.
You probably know the drill.
Image by Natalie Norton
I loved this post by Natalie Norton on Digital Photography School and her carefree attitude towards photography – she is willing to sacrifice technique for an image that speaks to her heart – and I am really inspired by her results.
While YES, YES, YES, I absolutely do believe that knowledge is good and vastly desirable, it can also be limiting. It can dam up our creativity. It can thwart our inherent confidence and impede our overall competence. – Natalie Norton
We all have to start somewhere, and obviously, we should always desire to improve and learn. But it seems there is a balance: the desire for perfection should never paralyze us from creating in the first place!
I’d rather be making art that impacts and means something than art that is technically and skillfully perfect in every way.
If you’re interested, read the full post, then let me know what you think – has the need for perfection ever held you back from doing something you love?
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Thanks for linking to that post – it’s something I definitely need to hear from time to time. I often get too caught up in what I “should” be doing (especially with things I’m just beginning, like photography) but whether in things that I’m learning, or activities I know well, it’s a good reminder to sometimes think less and feel more.
I would not say that the pursuit of perfection has stopped me from trying or doing anything, but it has absolutely held me back from feeling joy or a sense of accomplishment if I haven’t done it “well,” which for me is just as bad.
such a great way of putting it! thanks!
I found your blog through its having been freshly pressed (as I’m sure you may have guessed), so you may relate to this or not….
My blog was also freshly pressed (last week), which was actually a good lesson for me in exactly what you’re talking about here. I would not have called the post that they chose one of my best entries, at all, but clearly something about it caught someone’s eye, even in its imperfection.
Did you find that also, or did you think your freshly pressed post your best-ever?
That’s an interesting observation – I’d say it was definitely one of my favorites, though I’m not sure if I would say best? We are our own worst critics, I think.