Letting Go of Perfectionism to Find Your Best Artist Self

Perhaps unsurprisingly, perfectionism is a topic that comes up in my practice. As a creative, it seems totally reasonable to want your work to be “great,” “impeccable,” “award winning” and more. Perfect the word does not always comes up, because perfectionism is not actually about being perfect. It is actually about trying to avoid something like failure, judgment, or maybe worst of all: uncertainty. 

Perfectionism does not always look the same either. It changes like a chameleon into something resembling ambition, discipline, or some other type of self improvement. The basic narrative is generally the same though, “hide yourself until it or you is right.” Perfectionism keeps this narrative strong with lies like “there is a right way to do things,” “mistakes are dangerous,” “if you just push more, you can control the outcome.” I will be honest with you, just like I am with my clients…Perfectionism is a good liar, because none of these are 100% lies. Even worse, these lies may help you for a little while. They may help you reach your goals in the short term, but they always catch up with you in the long term. In fact, these are the moments that bring someone to work with me! 

Perfectionism leads you into the trap of punish and push, where you may get some success and confidence, and then you find yourself free falling into creative blocks, low self-esteem, and lack of passion for your work. You attempt to get yourself out of this by applying the same techniques perfectionism gave you before, but you find yourself with less and less results. It only digs you further into whatever ditch perfectionism led you down. In the end, this punish and push approach hurts us because it is not actually motivating. It does not actually help us connect to our playful artistic selves. 

"So what do I do?” Is a natural follow up question. Letting go of perfectionism does NOT mean lowering your standards or becoming careless. It means changing your relationship to your work, and to yourself, while you are in the midst of making it. For most of my clients, it doe not happen all at once. It shows up in small, specific shifts:

You start before you feel fully ready.
Instead of waiting for clarity, confidence, or the “right” idea, you begin with what you have. The work becomes a place you find direction, not a test of whether you already have it.

You make decisions without endless second-guessing.
Not because you are suddenly certain, but because you are willing to move forward without certainty. You trust that you can adjust as you go, instead of trying to anticipate and control every possible outcome in advance.

You notice the urge to overwork, and do not always follow it!
The impulse to keep adjusting, refining, and “just fixing one more thing” does not just disappear, but you can begin to recognize it for what it is. You instead, choose mindfulness, choose yourself, and choose to stop anyway.

You measure your work differently.
Instead of asking, “Is this perfect?” You might ask, “Did I show up honestly here?” “Did I move this forward?” “Did I let this be finished?” The focus shifts from outcome to connection, engagement, and fulfillment. 

In the end, you still care, but without the enormous pressure.
You can want your work to be good, meaningful, even excellent, without tying that outcome to your worth and identity. The reality is perfectionism often develops for a reason. It protects, organizes, and creates a sense of control, particularly especially in environments where being “good enough” did not feel like a stable option. Sadly, over time, the same strategy that once helped, can start to limit what is possible. Working without perfectionism is not about becoming a different person. It is about creating enough safety internally and relationally, that you do not need it in the same way.