Perfectionism and creativity have a complicated relationship. High standards can help us make better work, but when those standards become tied to fear of failure or our sense of worth, they can make it harder to begin, experiment and finish. In this Mindset Insight, I explore why perfectionism can get in the way of creative work and four practical ways to loosen its grip without lowering your standards.
When high standards become perfectionism
Hi. My name is Meg and I’m a recovering perfectionist.
I used to think my perfectionism meant I cared about doing things well. And I did (do) care about doing things well. Somewhere along the way, though, doing things well got tangled up with not wanting to get things wrong. My inner voice was telling me not to look foolish or find out that I’m not as good as I hoped.
Perfectionism doesn’t help me make better work. In fact, it can make it really hard to start anything.
I think a lot of creative people know this feeling.
You have an idea, you care about it and you want to do it justice. And suddenly the idea has become something you have to get right.
Why perfectionism can get in the way of creativity
The problem is that creativity doesn’t really work that way.
We need to be able to make the bad version before we find the good one. We need to try things that might not work and follow an idea without knowing where it is going.
A first draft isn’t meant to be polished.
A sketch isn’t meant to be a masterpiece.
An idea isn’t meant to arrive fully formed.
Recent research into perfectionism and creativity makes an interesting distinction between high standards and perfectionism. Researchers use the term excellencism to describe setting high standards and working towards them while allowing for flexibility when things don’t go to plan. Perfectionism brings in evaluative concerns, fear of failure and, often, a sense that our worth is tied to the result.
Research into perfectionism and creativity has also found an association between perfectionism and generating fewer original ideas, with fear and other negative emotions appearing to play a role.
This makes sense to me.
When I’m playing around with a new idea, my inner voice can be quick to say:
That’s stupid.
Someone’s already done that.
That won’t work.
Who do you think you are?
Which doesn’t give the new idea much of a chance.
And perfectionism doesn’t only affect what happens when we are creating. It can also become a form of procrastination.
If I don’t start, I don’t fail.
If I don’t send the submission, I don’t get a rejection.
If I don’t show anyone the painting, nobody can say they don’t like it.
Not starting can give us a little burst of relief. We avoid the uncomfortable feeling and, for a while, we feel better. The trouble is that this can make it easier to avoid the work again next time.
So perhaps the goal isn’t to get rid of perfectionism altogether.
Perhaps it’s to learn the difference between caring about the work and needing the work to prove something about us.
What can we do about perfectionism?
In this month’s Mindset Insight on Substack, I explore:
- Why perfectionism can get in the way of creative thinking.
Creative work needs curiosity, flexibility and the willingness to follow an idea before we know where it will lead. - Why perfectionism can look like procrastination.
Avoiding the work can sometimes be a way of avoiding the possibility of failure, judgement or discovering that we aren’t immediately good at something. - The difference between perfectionism and excellencism.
Rather than suggesting we should lower our standards, I look at how we can aim for excellence while leaving room for experimentation, mistakes and things not going to plan. - Four practical ways to loosen perfectionism’s grip.
Simple exercises to help you separate the work from your sense of worth, make the stakes smaller and get yourself moving when the perfectionist voice is getting in the way.
If you’ve ever found yourself waiting until you know you can do something well before allowing yourself to begin, this Mindset Insight is for you.