Perfectionism is disguised as ambition, demand, “having high standards.” But in practice it works like a trap: if I can't do it perfectly, I better not do it. And so the perfectionist spends years doing nothing at all.
Perfectionism is disguised as ambition, demand, “having high standards.” But in practice it works like a trap: if I can't do it perfectly, I better not do it. And so the perfectionist spends years thinking about what he would do if i could do it right, without doing anything at all.
Perfectionism is not quality
Cameron clearly distinguishes between perfectionism and the search for quality. Quality improves what exists. perfectionism prevents it from existing. Quality is a process. Perfectionism is paralysis.
The quality-seeking artist finishes a draft, revises it, and improves it. The perfectionist never starts the draft because he knows it won't be perfect the first time.
"Perfectionism is not the pursuit of the best. It is the pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be enough."
The three faces of creative perfectionism
Don't start
"I'm not ready yet." "I need to learn more before I try it." “When you have the right equipment…” Perfectionism turns preparation into an end in itself.
not finish
You start projects with enthusiasm but abandon them 80%. Because finishing means teaching, and teaching means exposing yourself to judgment. Perfectionism prefers an eternal draft to an imperfect work.
do not teach
You have drawers full of texts, notebooks with drawings, folders with songs. But no one has seen them. Because if no one sees them, no one can judge them. And if no one judges them, perfectionism wins.
The antidote: creating trash on purpose
Cameron proposes a provocative exercise: write something bad on purpose. A horrible poem. An ugly drawing. An out of tune song. The goal is to break the barrier of “it has to be good” and remember that creating, in itself, is already the goal.
The morning pages are the perfect laboratory for this. Three pages of garbage every morning. Nobody is going to read them. Nobody is going to judge them. And among all that garbage, from time to time, something that shines appears.
"A bad first draft is infinitely better than a masterpiece that never existed."
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