Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Perfection - or the lack thereof

I was told by someone at work today - a fellow perfectionist, though apparently a reformed one - that because of my tendency to accept nothing less than perfection, I am in danger of becoming paralyzed, of getting mired in inaction, of getting stalled ... of producing less than is expected of me. I can't argue with that; I think it's a true assessment of one of my major weaknesses. This person went on to say that I need to shake off the perfectionism, stop overthinking, and just DO.

I think there is hope for me, however. Because no matter how much I want to strive for a perfect scrapbook layout every single time, lately I've become much better at shaking off the perfectionism, stopping the overthinking, and just DOING. Case in point - the following layout. In about 20 minutes this weekend, I threw this one together. I totally did not overthink it. I glued things down without measuring first. I glued things down before I knew where each and every element would end up going. I added a flower here and a rub-on there. The frame with the word "really" in it was an afterthought. By the time I was done I felt like an Effer, those wild girls of the scrapbooking world. Betcha those Effers don't get hung up on perfection.



Supplies:

Carstock: Bazzill
Chipboard accents: Making Memories
Foam letters: $ store
Rub-on letters: American Crafts (white), Heidi Swapp (pink)
Rub-on words and symbols: American Crafts
Flowers: Bazzill, Prima
3-D flower sticker: $ store
Fabric-covered brad: $ store
Heart-shaped brads: $ store
Ribbon: Unknown
Floss: DMC

If only I could have whipped out this layout at work today, as concrete proof that I can change and grow! Somehow though, I think that would have been what an old boss of mine used to call a "CLM" (career-limiting move). Lol.

Now all I have to do is apply what I have learned sitting at my scrap desk, to what I do sitting at my work desk. Yikes. That's a perfectly overwhelming thought!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am a procrastinator with slight perfectionist tendencies... seems like an oxymoron, but the desire for perfection often leaves me paralyzed and unable to start working on something... so I put it off, figuring somehow inspiration will strike and it will all come together. *sigh* It never does. lol

Great LO... your son is a real sweetheart. I love the design and the freestyle feel t your page.

I too have shaken the perfectionism in scrapbooking. I don't necessarily embrace imperfection, but I don't take it apart and start over either. And oddly enough, a few days after the fact, I look back and 9 times out of 10, it's not awful. :P

Robyn~ said...

It is hard when your mind expects certain results and is not satisfied....I know you'll find your way to be comfortable with your own inner urges/expectations. Blessings!