Welcome back for another week of Creative Summer. Now we are here in the middle. It’s time to push on.
I hope by now you are settling into your creative routines, and most of all that you are enjoying it.
I’ve found my own routine of painting and making marker drawings for this month. It’s not high art or fancy, but I love playing with the colors. It feels magical seeing drawings come alive.
This week the focus is on letting go of perfection.
You’ve probably heard this before. Many times.
I have too, but I still need frequent reminders. It’s hard to keep it in my mind sometimes.
I sometimes get caught in the trap of trying to do things “just right” both for myself and for others. I don’t even want to show things I consider mistakes or creative messes.
It feels like an ego blow to admit I don’t do such a great job. It feels hard sometimes writing about creativity while knowing that often, I’m not all that creative.
- I don’t always use my resources very well.
- I make messes, lose focus, and just am not very clever.
- I sometimes fall back on old ideas because a new one isn’t coming when I need it.
- I fail at everything sooner or later. Often sooner.
- It happens that sometimes I’m not even willing to try because I’m too wrapped up in fear.
In other words, I’m human. I make mistakes, I’m inconsistent, and I miss important things. All these sorts of things happen to every human I’ve ever met.
In recent years, I’ve learned to forgive myself and have compassion on my failures. They are part of learning, struggling and growing and improving. We all have to go through failures or we are not growing, not pushing at our potential.
So this week and onward, try to just let go of those expectations you have on yourself. Just let them roll off and instead, focus on enjoying your creativity and self-expression.
You will have masterpieces, I can promise you that. You will do amazing things. But it’s alright if it’s not right today. It’s alright if today you show up and practice in preparation for that masterpiece.
And remember if you focus on the joy and the fun of creating, you are much more likely to return over and over again.
