Embracing Your Creativity

As a creative we can be taken in by this idea of perfection, yet in our pursuit of it, we find that it is an unattainable goal. What if, instead we release this notion of perfection and instead embrace ourselves as the conduits of creativity that we are and let go of the need to be perfect.

Transcript

Let us look at the ways that perfection is an illusion.

My name is Kieran and I'm an artist and creative mentor and I know that artists in all genres can experience issues around perfectionism and can feel held back in their desire to make art.

The reason that perfection is an illusion is because it is never in the here and now,

It's always in some far-off distant future.

The lie that accompanies that illusion is that you will know when you are ready when the piece of work is perfect.

You will know from the feeling.

You will sense that it has reached the dizzying heights of perfection and then you will release it out into the world and the world will respond well because it is perfect.

Except that day never arrives,

The feeling never visits and you never get the sense that the time has come.

Instead the goalposts keep moving,

You keep starting again,

Nothing you create seems good enough and so you keep going trying to attain that false idea of making something flawless.

It's an illusion that is costly because your creations don't get to be shared or even witnessed by you.

They never get to complete a full journey,

The seed of an idea to the manifestation of it.

You inhabit a no-man's land where works are begun and never completed or where you are perpetually starting afresh.

When you are in this cycle you don't see it in the same way that fish don't recognize water.

It feels real and as though this is the reality you are in because your work is not good enough and because you haven't put in enough time or honed your skills.

You are living in a lie so you can't see it.

It takes someone from the outside observing to knock on your door and say excuse me your work is ready,

You are ready,

The time is now.

Consider this your knock on the door,

Do not seek perfection,

Do not wait for this imagined ideal for it is imagined and you are the one who created these arbitrary lines.

It is you that has decided that you are not quite ready and you are also leaving it up to you to decide when you will be.

What if we just removed one part of this equation and took out the portion that requires this imaginary goal?

What if instead you decided to create as much as you can and leave this idea of perfection alone?

You dismiss it as an idea completely,

In its place you put in experimentation and exploration.

An idea is conceived and you get to travel this new journey with your ideas on an adventure where you are not held hostage to unfair and illusory parameters.

You get to play and make messes and some pieces of art make it to a point of being shared and some stay private for you but all of them get to see a beginning,

A middle and an end.

They are not all held in limbo in some perfectionist purgatory,

They are allowed to fly.

I understand that beneath these notions of creating perfection lies something deeper,

The idea that you are not enough therefore nothing you create is enough and that is the biggest lie of them all.

You are born enough and you are innately enough and always have been.

It's something you have forgotten.

The posts of perfectionism you have put up are to protect you from the fear that you are not making anything worthwhile,

That your creations are not of value.

But you are misguided by your own thoughts and beliefs about yourself.

You are witnessing yourself and your artistic offerings through a blurry window.

It is distorting your views and impacting how you create.

What if whilst you are creating you could suspend your beliefs about yourself and your acts of creation?

What if you allowed yourself to just be the conduit that you are and you left yourself out of the formula?

This allows for whatever wants to come through you to arrive and you get to enjoy the process and not feel defeated by it.

The ideas that come through you are gifts bespoke to you.

The ideas are seeds that come to you and only you because they have in them all the ingredients needed to make them come to life but only through you.

They need your perspective,

Your vision,

Your voice.

They need you.

Allow them in,

Welcome them and then step aside and let them work through you.

There is an alchemy that takes place in creating when we put aside the thoughts and feelings we have about ourselves and just let creativity play its part.

Take some time and reflect on the following journal prompts.

Imagine a world where you fully embrace and accept your art without any reservation or perfectionist ideals.

What does this world look like?

How does it feel in your body?

What actions do you take from this space?

What can you do to prepare your environment and yourself for this experience?

What would you need to release and let go of that is currently holding you back from accepting yourself and your art as you are without demands for perfectionism?

Write out your reflections or speak them out loud to yourself to gain a better understanding of your experiences.

We will end with some affirmations for you to listen to and absorb.

Maybe choose one or create a new one for yourself that you can use as a mantra throughout your day when you feel the pull towards perfectionism.

I am free to create the art I desire to make.

I am good enough and so is my art.

I am allowed to be a perfectly imperfect human being.

I am exploring all avenues of my creativity.

I am adventuring through my creative curiosities.

I am gifting myself the time and space I need to collaborate with my creative inspirations.

I release all expectations and I'm present in this moment.

I am open to creating imperfect art and accepting this as part of the creative process.

I embrace and accept my art.

I am excited to explore my creative nudges.

I enjoy creating without expectation.

I create freely without demands for perfection.

I remain seated in the here and now and create in the present moment.

I am a creative being and accept all parts of myself.

My art is allowed to show up in imperfect ways and I welcome it in all its forms.

I give myself permission to create good and bad art and anything in between.

I am an artist and delight in my creative journey.

I celebrate my creations.

I value my gifts as a creative being.

Remember your role as an artist is to be the conduit for a greater creative channel.

Open up to it and allow it to flow through you with unconditional love and acceptance.

Release any ideas of perfectionism and expectation and enjoy the creative collaboration with the creative energy that comes through you.

Reviews

I really enjoyed this as I see this in me and I suppose that the perfection I look for in my art ( that never gets started once an idea comes along,or either it doesn't get finished ) is because I maybe see that I am not enough and my art is not enough.This being why I have yet to really reach my full potential.So I am seeing this as a knock on my door.Thank you and I really appreciate your content.I hope to see more on here.Much Love and Peace ❤️✌️