Practice Makes Progress
I grew up a perfectionist. And perfectionists know, not everything that you do is perfect or even done at all. It’s the idea of creating or doing something perfectly that wraps itself around you like a boa constrictor and squeezes until you either produce a tortured yet pristine version of your work or become paralyzed in a state of perpetual planning. It is a familiar tale. One that many of us may want to forget but for me it’s helpful, motivating even.
Once I recognized what I was doing I became more and more aware of it in the moment. I’m not putting on an outfit because the event or weather is not optimal. I’m not taking outfit of the day photos because the sunlight in my apartment is not facing the right direction. I could go on for hours but yesterday as I sat to write this post (a form of procrastination, by the way) I decided to get up and take pictures. One singular goal: get a photo for Instagram. It didn’t matter how good or bad the outfit was, I was going to capture the moment. And I did!
It felt so good to just get one thing done without the heavy expectation of “I am going to post every day.” I focused yesterday on that and today I can focus on the next thing. One by one. One step at a time.
When I think of someone like Kobe Bryant who devoted so much time into practice and even at his best still practiced, I begin to understand that success is in the doing, over and over again.
Once I decided that I was going to take pics and post them no matter what, I felt kind of free. It then became about keeping a promise to myself, holding myself accountable and following through. I set up the camera and moved it ever-so-slightly at least 30 times, people walked by, my phone rang, but I was fully focused. With each snap of a blinked eye or an awkwardly placed foot, I began to learn how to get the shot I want. The more I practice taking photos, the better I’ll be and the more I’ll enjoy it.
I get it now - your joy is in the practice, your success is in the progress. And “perfection” is your chosen perspective on it all.