Guest Blog: Creative Perfectionism is Real and it’s Crippling

Please enjoy this guest blog post by Grace McNamara: 

Last semester, I did an independent study on creating a website for my little calligraphy business Written With Grace. My hope for the semester was to design a beautiful website full of original products that I am proud of. I wanted there to be a simple checkout process and a place to inquire about custom orders or wedding services. Unfortunately, my dreams don’t just come to life easy peasy. That season of life was filled with a lot of hesitation, trial, and error, and doubt due to my own creative perfection. Good news– I did finally post the website and I am proud of it, but I learned a lot on the way.

Personally, I don’t really think creativity and perfectionism should go hand in hand. To me, spending time creating should not be crippling, but quite the opposite– freeing and fun! I often find myself overwhelmed with all the ideas in my head– dreams to start a business, try felted wool art, take up videography, etc. All these hopes and dreams are overwhelming but exciting. To me, launching my calligraphy business was a leap in the right direction. I just wanted people to be proud of my accomplishments– which is a dangerous place to be in —  and then I really thought I would be freed from this cycle of perfection.

To start, I made products I was proud of. This process is challenging but exciting to me. I love to create and be inspired by other amazing artists. The creating process was fun and peaceful. Then, the more daunting part– the website. I finally bite the bullet and bought the website because then I knew there was no going back. I was locked in. The fact that this project was an independent study, with a deadline was helpful. If it wasn’t for the deadline, lies in my head saying “this isn’t good enough” would have stopped me in my tracks.

Now, this isn’t necessarily based in insecurity. I wouldn’t say I’m insecure. Instead, the issues lie in knowing my own strengths– what I am capable of–  and being overwhelmed by the thought of sharing it with the whole wide web. Putting yourself out there is incredibly bold and brave. It is so important. It allows for confidence to try our more dreams– such as felted wool art or videography.

Thankfully, I was bold and stepped out of my comfort zone because my website has been one of my favorite achievements to date. It has taught me how to market and network, the art of design, customer relations, and most importantly, how to get over the fear of not being perfect. Creative perfectionism is a real problem among many– not just creatives. Taking baby steps, working hard, and just going for it is so worth it. Seriously, even if it means closing your eyes when you click “make website visible,” who cares! The website is still visible and it’s a check off the bucket list.

The experience I had with my website was invaluable. Something I didn’t even know I dealt with– and have been dealing with– was brought to light and I was able to tackle it head-on. Creative Perfectionism is not uncommon and there are helpful tips to overcome it so creatives can keep on doing what they do best.