The Unreachable Perfect

The old saying, "Practice makes perfect," was wrong!

Photo from Pixabay.com

I am a born perfectionist -been that way ever since I was kid.

When I was young, I saw it in little things, such as in my sculpting projects or other little creations. But when I started trying to learn how to be a full time, professional, musician, my perfectionism began driving me crazy.  

Constantly trying to find the perfect sound, or the perfect way to record this instrument, or do this in a mix, was too much of a burden for me to handle.  

I read lots of books, listened to instructional DVD's and kept saying, "If I only try harder then I will reach perfection."

I soon realized that perfection is an unreachable mark.

Perfection sets the bar so high, that of course I am going to fail.  There is nothing left but failure.

Now, don't get me wrong, my perfectionism isn't always a beast; it's often a blessing.  It pushes me to go beyond the "normal"; to look into creative ways to make things work and work well.  I wouldn't be the artist I am today if it wasn't for this trait, but even the best traits can be your worst enemies.

What you as a musician and an artist need to understand is that perfect is unreachable and that we should be grateful for this fact.

If perfection was attainable, we would be too scared to create anything beyond that perfect creation.  The unreachable perfection keeps us as artists striving  for better creations.  It keeps the creative juices flowing.

Perhaps, "perfection" shouldn't be our goal anymore? Perhaps "growth" should take it's place?

Because if you are growing in your art -pushing yourself to be better and think bigger than before- then you are accomplishing a lot.

-Keep in mind the fact that even those who, in our minds, have "made it" in their art, still consider their work imperfect and in need of improvements.

We are naturally our worst critic.

So stop chasing the elusive perfect and start giving yourself some credit for what you are accomplishing right now!

“I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business.” ― Michael J. Fox

 Perfect is like tomorrow: it can never be reached, but better, that is a goal we can obtain.  Excellence, that is something we can achieve.

So the question is this: Are you going to continue striving after something that you can't obtain or are you going to start working towards the reachable "better"? It is up to you.

How about you? Have you been running after the unreachable perfect?  What steps can you take today towards growing in your art?  How can you stop striving after perfection and starting shooting for growth?

And don't forget to tell me about it.

Comment below one thing that you want to grow in... not be perfect at... but to be better at.  Then go out and do it!