Originally, this post was going to be about Pink. So much for being organized.
I’ve been reading some articles lately about perfectionism and letting go. It seems to be a reoccurring theme for a lot of us. Perfect grammar, perfect measuring, perfect lines.
PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT
Marsha Brady comes to mind.
As a quilt teacher, I try to encourage my students to put consistency over accuracy. There are a lot of quilters who will disagree with me and live by the school of thought that you must have perfect 1/4″ seams. When you are completely focused on the perfectionism, you become paralysed. The fear of doing something incorrectly prevents you from enjoying the process and often times stops you from doing anything.
I think that perfectionism is the root of procrastination. Too often, things get left undone out of our fear of doing it incorrectly. The mind justifies this while contemplating the perfect way to accomplish said task. The procrastinators you know, perhaps even yourself, are most likely deep thinkers. We analyse and over analyse until we can’t think anymore; meanwhile nothing is done. Or, we are haunted by an adult in our lives who chastised us when our work wasn’t up to their standards.
It’s time to stop striving for perfectionism. Enjoy the process and most of all the learning that accompanies the mistakes.
And stop expecting it in others, especially children. So the bed isn’t smooth, at least it’s made.
Pink Is an attitude 