Tag Archives: Perfectionism

A murderer lives in my head. He has been there, dare I say, most my life and from his vantage point, he can see nearly everything. His name is Perfectionism and he spends most of his days stalking Creativity. He is patient, deliberate, and cunning. He waits to pounce on a poorly written sentence, a stray cut, or an errant brush stroke. Perfectionism jumps from his perch with eager malice slashing at Creativity till it is nothing more than tattered thoughts on the floor while leaving you, the creator wallowing in self-doubt.

I have become more aware of perfectionism the further I plod ahead with writing my novel. When I first began typing, perfectionism started a simple conversation, and it went something like this:

“What ya doing?”

“Writing a story.”

“That’s cute, what’s it about?

“Espionage/thriller kinda thing. I’m still working out the details.”

“Oh.”

“What do you mean, oh?”

“Well, if you don’t know 100% what you are writing, how do you expect it to be any good?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Look, your first paragraph already has some issues. Leave the writing to the professionals and go do something you’re good at.”

Death by a thousand comments. I had barely started and I was already doubting. I’m a good way through my first draft now but Perfectionism doesn’t give up and to give him credit, he is very convincing.

Even while writing this post, perfectionism has pulled up a chair and is looking over my shoulder spouting off his opinion.

“Taking a break from your novel I see. Probably for the best, the transition in chapter 11 is brutal, and if you don’t nail it, the rest of the book won’t fall into line.” The truth is, it doesn’t have to be perfect, and to be honest, it probably never will be. True perfection is an unattainable goal and not just for you, but for everyone on this Earth. So, if it’s something none of us can obtain why do we give power to perfectionism when he tells us, “It’s all or nothing?”

I’m trying something new, and that statement alone rouses perfectionism. My father had an old wooden chessboard where he taught me to play the game. I hope to teach my son and daughter to play on it as well. It has sat in a closet for years. I want to inlay that chessboard into a tabletop. I’ve never worked with wood like this before. So in preparation, I’ve scrounged around collecting the needed tools, bought the materials, and watched a lot of YouTube.

I haven’t made the first cut yet but I know as soon as I grab my saw, perfectionism will speak up. The thing is, I may mess up but I’m going to have fun trying. I’m even going to let my son help, and since I’m a nice guy, I’m going to share the process with you too. If you happen to know anything about woodworking I’m open to advice.

As for my writing, some of the best advice I received was from successful published authors who instructed me to, write my first draft all the way through. Don’t stop, just finish. It’s not going to be perfect, that’s what the 2nd, then 3rd, and the 4th drafts are for. I am going to strive to make my novel as perfect as I can, but It’s not going to happen the first time around.

As best-selling author John Acuff said, “Perfectionism is creativity tied to fear instead of hope.” If you want to take a deep dive into Perfectionism and the role it plays when trying to achieve your goals, I highly recommend picking up Acuff’s book, Finish, and following his podcasts. https://acuff.me/

What did Perfectionism tell you when you dared to take the first step toward a goal? Did it attack you, or did it look subtly over your shoulder?