Giving Up on Perfection

The question that helps me stop waiting to be ready.

Perfectionism doesn’t just stop us from making our art.
It stops us from living our lives.

That probably sounds dramatic, so I’ll share a story from my own life.

It was 1996, and I was living in a small Chicago cottage I’d slowly been fixing up. That summer I’d painted the ceiling of my back porch blue, after reading in Martha Stewart Living that it kept flies away, or something like that. I even bought Martha’s own paint in her color called Porch Ceiling Blue.

I told myself I was creating the perfect space to make art, but the truth is, I was doing everything except making it. Home improvement projects were my way of feeling productive while avoiding what intimidated me most: the blank page.

One afternoon, I finally sat on that porch, sketchbook open — and I couldn’t bring myself to make a single mark.

A fan of timed, stream-of-consciousness writing, I wrote this question at the top of the page:

If I didn’t have to do it perfectly, I would…

Then I answered that question as fast as I could for the next ten minutes.

Afterward, there was immediate clarity about a tiny (imperfect) step I could take toward a creative dream that kept pulling at me.

Little did I know the changes that would be set in motion by daring to consider what I might do imperfectly—and then taking that first imperfect step.

The exploration immediately led to a new direction in my art.

Which led to a new consulting gig.

Which led to a new relationship.

Which led to a cross-country move to San Francisco.

And more adventures—each one aligned with something truer inside me.

Every step was an evolution into more of what I loved, more of who I really wanted to be and do and experience.

But I had to give up on perfection first.

Giving up on perfection isn’t a one-and-done thing. It’s something I have to remember almost daily.

Whenever I’m about to reorganize the spice cabinet or deep clean the refrigerator, I take a beat. Those are my blue porch ceiling moments — signs I’m avoiding my creative work.

These days, I like to think I’m striving for imperfection.

How about you?

Try this:

A Creative Practice to Give Up On Perfection

Grab your pen and paper.

Set a timer for ten minutes.
Write this journal prompt at the top of your page: If I didn’t have to do it perfectly, I would…

Quick—write your first thoughts down without second-guessing. Take the whole ten minutes to write. The writing doesn’t have to be complete sentences or seem to make sense. It might take the form of a list or a mind map.

After you’ve written, see what’s there.

Circle things that are the smallest, imperfect steps you can take now.

Then pick one, and do it.

Rinse and repeat this creative practice whenever you find yourself in a swirl of analysis paralysis, overthinking, or waiting for the perfect moment or circumstances to begin.

If you try this, I’d love to know what you discovered.