Creative Solutions and Inspirations from the Modern Day Muses

The Beauty of ImperFection

By Jill Badonsky, M.Ed.

PLUS: Meet the Muse Spills

One of my very favorite quotes about our approach to the creative process is this:

He who hesitates because he feels inferior is being surpassed by those who are busy making mistakes and becoming superior. — Henry Link

This month the modern day muse, Spills will share her powers of being the Muse of Process, Practice and Imperfection.

I’ve written several articles on the art of making mistakes and of being imperfect in the creative process — I’ve made several mistakes in the course of my career, my creative process, my relationships and with a turn off I took in east L.A during rush hour. Mistakes are requirements for growth and discovery. They are rituals of initiation at the beginning of a process and scare off 80% of people pursuing a path that could bring so much joy and reward if they only allowed themselves to be imperfect. So many people really do hesitate to follow their bliss because they fear failure or cannot tolerate their own incompetence at the beginning of a process — where they are supposed to be nothing but incompetent and nonjudgmental. I find this is particularly rampant with people who are very competent in another area of their lives or would like to return to a creative arena where they were once very productive and successful. Their unrealistic expectations immobilize them.

So instead of making the mistake I’ve made before when expounding upon all the ways to bust through the blocks of perfectionism, unrealistic expectations and fear of failure, I’d like to focus on one very clear method for overcoming this challenge. This is the method that is most successful with clients wanting more creativity in their lives but who struggle with perfectionism: Lower your expectations at the beginning of a process to the point of freedom — not just in theory, in slap-happy practice. Give yourself permission to do really awful stuff... but do it. Do it a little at a time. This confounds some people who insist at being the very best at everything but you only have to be this way until the timeless flow and healthy obsession of creativity whooshes you with sweet imbalance off your feet and you keeps you going so you cannot help but reach excellence. As you get into the process, the practice that comes from the freedom of not judging yourself, the perseverance that you show that many people do not risk, will make you better and you’ll rise to the top. Suspend judgment.

Use a mantra: I am suspending judgment and allowing discovery. I surrender my high expectations and trust the process. The more I “do” the more I’ll like what I do. So what, I’ll do it anyway. This is good... this is very, very good (no matter what it looks like or sounds like). Pick one, make up one but feed yourself messages that keep you in the process despite your feelings of initial awkwardness. Remember this quote from Fred Astaire: “The higher up you go, the more mistakes you are allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it's considered to be your style.”

Adopt the habit of relentless perseverance. Let go of expectations and know that one of the fringe benefits of doing anything creative is watching for the unexpected doors that open

"The power of mistakes enables us to reframe creative blocks and turn them around.... The troublesome parts of our work, the parts that are most baffling and frustrating, are in fact the growing edges. We see these as opportunities the instant we drop our preconceptions and our self-importance." — Stephen Nachmanovitch

“The creative process is non-linear. We do not traverse a straight line to our dreams but instead, encounter many surprises and new directions. Spills says, “Hey mortal, be open to where the process takes you and stay the course that’s true to your heart. Striving for a perfect series of results according to calculated actions, and expecting a rigid set of images with no room for variation, is the way of damaging control. Control is not cool. It is used when you don’t trust the process. If you fiddle with the process because you are rigid about what your dream must look like, you miss the signs that lead to a more penetrating dream, the one most suited to you. And you miss out on the joy of a process that is filled with the remarkable gifts of your unfolding self.” Spills is fairly articulate despite being an Imp and all.”

From the book The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration for Artists, Poets, Lovers and Other Mortals Wanting to Live a Dazzling Existence by Jill Badonsky, M.Ed. •

Copyright © Jill Badonsky, 2007. All rights reserved.

About the Author | More by Jill Badonsky
Jill Badonsky, M.Ed. is a nationally recognized workshop leader, artist, performer, humorist, and author of the book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration for Artists, Poets, Lovers and Other Mortals Wanting to Live a Dazzling Existence. She teaches creativity lovers to facilitate classes and workshops based on her book and along with UCLA psychologist, Robert Maurer, she trains people to be Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaches. She can be found lurking at www.themuseisin.com.

03/14/07