An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.-Dr. Edwin Land
I found today in a knitting book I got from the library yesterday. It has a pattern for a hat in it that I want to make for Owen. I didn't notice that quotes at first but there are several in it that resonate with me. The above one in particular.
I don't like to fail. I know that no one does. But I REALLY don't. I don't like not being good at something. Anything. If I try it I want to be good at it. The best. And I want to be good the first time. This is something I have to work on. All the time. Especially with my creative process. I give up if something is not coming easily to me. I don't know why. Well, I do know why. I am a perfectionist. I want everything to be perfect. Unrealistic, I know. But nonetheless, it's who I am. Sometimes it's a good thing. I am very detail oriented. I can be counted on to get stuff done and it will be done well. I can also procrastinate because of the fear and the "what if". What if I don't finish? What if it's not good? I have to learn to embrace the failure. It's what drives a person to work harder and try again. How many times did Thomas Edison try with the light bulb? We could still be in the dark if I had been him! It was 3000 filaments that he tested before he came up with one that was right. 3000! That's a lot of practice and a lot of work. I have to stop giving up so easily.
I admire that about my sister. Her persistence. She was persistent with our mom when she wanted something. She usually got it too. I just accepted "no" the first time. But she's also persistent with her creativity. She has an idea and works with it until she gets it right. She's always the person I go to when I have an idea I am stuggling with. She was always the person who could find whatever it was I was looking for but couldn't see. Usually it was right under my nose.
So I think I need to post this quote in my craft room. Then maybe I will be reminded to strive less for perfection and be more persistent.
1 comment:
Aww. You so sweet! If you think about it not giving up is part of being creative. Sometimes you have a great idea in your mind but it turns out differently that you thought, that isn't a failure. Because you have started something, you just need to refine the details of it. One idea will always lead the way to another one. I guess maybe deciding what "failure" means to you is more important than not giving up.
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