THE ART OF IMPERFECTION

October 8, 2022 Paloma Karst

Mastering imperfection is really hard, especially when you are a perfectionist.

You might understand like me that to get good at something you need to practice. There is no magical way to get better. In my case, more often than not I just feel like I'm stuck.

The worst is when I want to do something new, because I don't even know where to start. What kind of crazy person just starts doing, right? I absolutely need full preparation and of course, a list. This makes it hard for me to begin anything.

While beginning is hard, most of the time finishing something is harder than beginning. If I am on a lucky day, full of motivation, the sun is shining bright, everything is good, and I actually start, mid-process thoughts start to intrude..

This is a waste of time.

I am never going to be good at this.

What's the point of doing this if someone else already does this better?

And then I either stop what I am doing, or throw it away.

Here some art I threw away because it wasn't good enough (thankfully I took pictures of the before). This is 3D pen art is just an example of one of the many things I started and didn't finish.

I have a really hard time being constant and actually continuing because I have the bad habit of comparing my projects to other people's projects, and to be honest, there are people out there with amazing talent. I mean, look at this for example!

This is not my art, and I have no affiliation with this seller. I found it on Etsy and thought it was cool. 1:1 comparison of my 3D Pen art vs this great piece.

However, one day scrolling through Instagram all disappointed, I saw a reel that really stuck with me. It said something along the lines of

Not everything is about improvement or skill.
You don't have to be good at your hobbies, you just have to enjoy them.
If I had to be good at my hobby, I would quit

Great reel. It makes a lot of sense, right? Makes all the sense! Yet, easier said than done. It got me thinking:

Who these days does something just to do it? Just for fun?
Without trying to make any profit from it?
And without showing it to the world?

If you can say "me!" to all those questions, I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, that I am very happy for you! It is a true blessing!

If you are like me, and get discouraged easily, don't worry, we can do this! We have God and each other!

I have to admit I saw that reel in November 2020, and for a while, I still couldn't start half of my ideas, or finish the ones I had started. 6 months later, in May 2021, I had my today is the day.

That day I started trying ideas, actively attempting to have fun with the process, and reminding myself that I had to let things it be imperfect.

Little did I know that a few month's later I would start a new job. God put it in my path and I chuckled when I heard my new boss' motto:

Fail fast

Funny, isn't it? He encouraged his team to not get caught up trying to get things perfect the first time.

The faster you fail, the faster you get to the next iteration that will get you closer to the end design.
The faster you fail, the faster you can come up with more ideas.
The faster you fail, the faster you learn about the issues you'll have to overcome.

I thought it was a great business motto to keep things moving along! It also makes the dynamics of work fun! There is room for creativeness, freedom and helps people not get stuck in their mistakes.

Now, a year of experience later, I can tell you that it makes it easier to look at things this way. It's easy to forget, though. I still have my ups and downs, but I am happier and I've brought to life way more ideas than ever before in my life.

I hope this helps you too! Whenever you are ready, be prepared to say:

Today, I will attempt to master the art of imperfection.

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