1. If you are an artist, you have to create art.

2. If you do not create art, you will become unhappy and unproductive.

3. If you create art, it must be perfect or it is not worth making.

4. Therefore, if your art is not perfect, then it is not worth making.

5. Therefore, if your art is not perfect, you will become unhappy and unproductive.

6. To avoid becoming unhappy and unproductive, you must create perfect art; therefore, your art must be perfect or not made.*”*http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidZwarg/20100407/65216/Overcoming_Perfectionism_4_Strategies_to_Appreciate_Your_Art_and_Your_Life_.php

Perfectionism. It’s a word that almost everyone can relate to, but that few people seem to understand. So what is it? And how can you overcome perfectionism in your life?

Perfectionism is the fear of failure plus the fear of success. The more successful we are, the more likely we are to fail, and when we fail, the more likely we are to judge ourselves harshly. But does that mean we should lower our standards?

Not at all! In my work as an artist and photographer, I’ve come up against this problem many times, and I know it’s rooted in a misunderstanding about what creativity really is.

I want to share with you four strategies for overcoming perfectionism in your life:

1) Stop comparing yourself to others

2) Appreciate yourself and your art

3) Take action without attachment to outcome

4) Embrace failure as part of creativity

Let’s take a look at each of these strategies in turn…

Perfectionism is a real problem that can sabotage you and your art. Here are four things you can do to defeat it:

1. Stop Taking It So Seriously

2. Be Your Own Worst Critic

3. Give Yourself Permission to Fail

4. Learn to Love Your Art and Your Life

Perfectionism is not just a personal problem; it’s a cultural problem. We live in an age of increasing self-consciousness and neurosis, where we agonize over every little decision, unable to act without months of self-examination and second-guessing. We’re paralyzed by the thought that tomorrow we might be doing the wrong thing, so we never do anything at all. Perfectionism is our way of trying to protect ourselves from making mistakes, but in the process we end up limiting ourselves and our lives.

We expect too much from ourselves, and too much from others. We should do away with this perfectionist standard everyone has set for themselves, because it doesn’t actually lead to better results or happier lives—it just breeds misery, disappointment and resentment.

The only way out is through—by refusing to let yourself be held hostage by your own demand for perfection, you can free yourself to enjoy your art and your life

Perfectionism is a common obstacle to creating something and can be particularly harmful when it comes to art. Because perfectionism is such an insidious problem for many artists, I’ve put together a list of four strategies for overcoming perfectionism. When you’re feeling paralyzed by the pressure to achieve perfection, try applying one of these strategies and see if you can’t get back on track to making your art a reality.

Practical Advice

Art is something that you do for yourself. You may make the occasional gift to someone else, but you don’t make art for them. You make it for your own personal sense of joy, satisfaction and accomplishment.

Too many people have the idea that art is supposed to be perfect. Start with a blank piece of paper, then fill it up with nothing but perfection. But that’s not really possible. There are no perfect people, no perfect pieces of art–and there never will be. So why should you try to make your art perfect?

It’s hard enough to get started on your art, to finish off one piece, much less work towards making each one more and more perfect. Perfectionism can be a real problem in the world of art.

So how do you overcome this? What are some strategies for being satisfied with what you’ve already done and getting on to making new things? Here are four ideas to get you started:

You are a perfectionist. You have to be. If you’re anything like me, you have multiple projects going at the same time, and you want them all to succeed. I can’t afford failures, and if I am going to succeed, I need to make sure that I am doing my best on all fronts. This means pushing myself, forcing myself to do more and more until every project meets my unreasonably high standards.

What this means is that I don’t get to work on what I love doing most. Instead of enjoying my work, I find myself overwhelmed by deadlines and tasks that aren’t fun at all.

I don’t have (and maybe you don’t either) the luxury of working on something for a long period of time with no immediate results; there’s always something else to do. If one thing isn’t finished yet, then another thing has to take its place. My need for perfection has stolen my ability to just enjoy my work.