{"id":119110,"date":"2023-12-07T09:38:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T13:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=119110"},"modified":"2023-12-14T09:50:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T13:50:05","slug":"art-perfectionism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/art-perfectionism\/","title":{"rendered":"Art Perfectionism: Tips From Elizabeth Gilbert & Julia Cameron"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is “good enough” not good enough for you? Are your standards unrealistically high? Are you willing to produce something that’s not all that great?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you create paintings, blog posts, music, or hairstyles, you have a personal standard<\/a>. You might also tend to set that standard too high. We’ve pulled together some advice on how to overcome art perfectionism from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way<\/em> and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more to get some encouragement\u2014and perhaps a needed adjustment in your standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Art Perfectionism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cameron explains that many artists hold themselves back due to their obsession with perfection<\/strong>. Perfectionism blocks people from achieving their artistic destiny, first and foremost, because art is subjective\u2014\u201cperfect\u201d art simply doesn\u2019t exist. As such, striving for perfection will simply cause you to hyperfixate on unimportant details and prevent you from finishing projects. Further, the fear of failing to achieve perfection prevents many artists from even taking a first step toward their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cameron makes two recommendations for dealing with art perfectionism.<\/strong> First, rather than striving for perfection, identify and strive for \u201cgood enough.\u201d Second, allow yourself to create bad art. Cameron elaborates that no artist creates the ideal final product on their first try. Before you create good art, you have to be willing to create bad art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice From Elizabeth Gilbert
<\/strong>
In <\/em>Big Magic<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Elizabeth Gilbert reiterates the nefarious nature of perfectionism and provides a few additional tips that may help you follow Cameron\u2019s recommendations for overcoming it.

First, to release your perception of what your art \u201cshould\u201d be<\/a> and strive for \u201cgood enough\u201d rather than \u201cperfect,\u201d Gilbert says you must let go of three common beliefs: 1) that your art must be novel, 2) that your art must be relevant to others, and 3) that your art must be lofty or impactful.

Second, to help you follow Cameron\u2019s advice to get comfortable creating \u201cbad art,\u201d you can try some of Gilbert\u2019s tips: Don\u2019t let others\u2019 opinions affect how or what you create<\/a>, and don\u2019t fear feedback from others<\/a>\u2014they\u2019re usually not paying attention<\/a> anyway. Further, be realistic<\/a> about what you can accomplish with the time you have. This will help you set realistic expectations<\/a> for yourself, which may increase your willingness to create something imperfect.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is “good enough” not good enough for you? Are your standards unrealistically high? Are you willing to produce something that’s not all that great? Whether you create paintings, blog posts, music, or hairstyles, you have a personal standard. You might also tend to set that standard too high. We’ve pulled together some advice on how to overcome art perfectionism from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. Read more to get some encouragement\u2014and perhaps a needed adjustment in your standards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":119117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,43,30],"tags":[1344],"class_list":["post-119110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","category-work","tag-the-artists-way","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nArt Perfectionism: Tips From Elizabeth Gilbert & Julia Cameron - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is "good enough" not good enough for you? 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