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Creativity Tip: Be Seen Trying
Perfectionism hinders growth; do your thing!
Being Less than Perfect is Hard
Most of us invest precious time in learning skills we want to master, whether speaking a foreign language, writing a novel, or improving our tennis game. Unfortunately, once we realize mastery requires interaction and feedback, we often dishonor the time we’ve invested by giving up or postponing our efforts to a future date that may never come.
I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. ― Michael Jordan
Nobody Wants to Look Foolish
As an amateur 3D cake maker, I struggled for years with not wanting to be seen trying. I enjoyed baking custom cakes resembling objects or characters my friends and family admired. Still, I often treated it like a terrible secret because I didn’t want others to expect too much from me. I didn’t want to admit that I didn’t know how or if I could employ some of the necessary techniques to make a ‘perfect” cake design.
Also, hours before presenting the cake to my loved one, I would start to worry. I would obsess over tiny details no one else would notice and lament techniques that I hoped would work but failed. Small details the recipient wouldn’t notice…
