Perfectly Imperfect
Today’s micro show is a reminder to aim lower. Sounds crazy and counterintuitive for sure, but it is the secret (in my opinion) to showing up as a creative in a noisy and competitive world. The minute you begin to intentionally practice imperfection is the minute you can start doing the work you were meant to do with expectations that produce results!
Oxford defines imperfection as the state of being faulty or incomplete. I don't like that definition, so I’d like to submit one of my own …
Imperfection is the state of being free to grow towards a higher or more complete version of oneself.
I have learned after years of practice that an expectation of imperfection is actually super healthy. I will share an early and more recent story to illustrate this. I’m also sharing wise words from Seth Godin and Lauren Sapala and my best tip on what to do when you make your next blunder!
““If I can’t make it perfect, is it okay if I try to make it better?”
When a project doesn’t come out precisely the way we hoped, when customer service isn’t 100%, when the reality doesn’t match the dream, then what?
One option is to embrace your failure. To have your tantrum, to become bereft, to wallow in how unfair the world is. No sense messing up a perfect moment of imperfection.
The other option is to put some effort into making an imperfect situation a little less imperfect. Perhaps, with some distance, it might even be a lot less imperfect, or even better than you were hoping for in the first place.
Imperfect is a chance for contribution, connection and improvisation. It’s a chance to see the humanity behind the moment you were spending so much energy creating.
The alternative to perfect might be better. ”
As you read Lauren’s advice, replace “writing” or “writers” with whatever it is YOU do—or want to do more of.
“Writing is actually supposed to be fun. It is something that is supposed to nourish you, support you, help you grow and expand, and help you connect more deeply with your own heart and mind. It’s not something you need to get an A+ or 100 percent on. It’s not a test or a way for everyone else to judge you and find you unworthy. Writing is an act of love toward yourself.
That’s the thing I see writers forget the most often.
If you see yourself in any of this, make a short list of three things you can do today to be more accepting and more loving of yourself as a writer, and then commit to doing them. Remember, the goal isn’t to be perfect, the goal is to be you. ”
Of course props to Pee Wee Herman for his outstanding example of owning imperfection!
And finally, I pulled 2 additional quotes from 2 awesome General Conference talks I heard over this past Easter weekend. The first is this, “The Lord does not require perfect faith for us to have access to His perfect power,” from this talk by Russel M. Nelson and the second is this, “We are all infants compared to the beings of glory and grandeur we are designed to become. No mortal being advances from crawling to walking to running without frequent stumbles, bumps, and bruises. That is how we learn,” from this talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I’m so grateful YOU listen each week.
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