Last week I shared my experience with creative burnout and how I have overcome it. But today I want to chat further about what causes the burnout? Some things for me include my perfectionist tendencies and a pesky need to please mentality that I’ve been known to have in the past.

Does that sound similar to how you feel also? If so then let’s chat about this because those two things alone could kick anyone on downward spiral.

Personally speaking I’m a recovering perfectionist and I know many other creatives that have twisted themselves in a similar mind trap also. Because as creatives we’re so passionate about our craft, reputation, and the growth of our business, that we want everything we produce to be the best. And really, there’s nothing terribly wrong with a commitment to improving. But letting perfection stall our progress isn’t productive. Remember, done is better than perfect in a similar fashion to moving is better than standing still. So let’s share my first tip;

Fall in love with the process.

All it’s really going to take is for you to fall in love with creating whatever it is that you are on a mission to create. So whether you yearn to capture photographs, paint masterpieces, build an online business or heck even write the next best seller start to fall in love with creating your magic.

I believe any of these things are a possible reach in reality for any of us. We just have to claim our craft and then get busy creating and sharing it with the world. Let people decide how they feel about it. Then create more.

Create. Share your work. Repeat.

A successful creative pursuit is a journey, not a destination. To be honest, being a photographer is ingrained in me after all these years being dedicated to learning and growing. Both personally and professionally. (And yes, I do strongly believe you can not have one without the other, but that’s a whole blog in itself.) In all of those years I just kept showing up. Capturing people’s stories and leaning in to what I became passionate about. I knew I loved wedding photography as soon as I got started. So I started with what I knew, created how I knew how to create and then just kept tweaking things as I went along on my journey into being a professional photographer. So keep at creating your magic and press publish. Over time, you’ll just keep becoming stronger at your craft and hone in on your unique style. With time, you’ll be met by your new companions joy and contentment.

Your self-love is important.

Perfection is anxiety under the guise of excellence. It stunts big moves and small moves and leaves you feeling inadequate more often than not. Let’s get our self love and general morale back up.

Self-improvement is a productive exercise to channel your perfectionist tendencies. Have you heard the saying, “We all have room to improve”? This implies that no one is perfect. It’s a relief! Acknowledge that you cannot be perfect (no one can!), but you can be a little better: a better business person, a stronger artist, a thoughtful partner, and so on.

How to overcome perfectionism

This is something I’m always working on and want to help you do the same!

  • Do it even if you don’t feel ready.

If we all waited until the timing was perfect, our art was perfect, the sun and stars aligned—we wouldn’t get anywhere new. So just do it now.

  • Create a mindset shift.

Perfectionism is nothing more than a mindset. Feed yourself good thoughts and continue to get better at shifting yourself to a mindset that celebrates the love of help others through as well. Done is better than perfect. Put your work out there, let people decide what they think of it, and in the meantime, keep making more.

  • Commit to being a work in progress.

Truly understand that learning both the business tactics as well as learning how to be a better person will help in your pursuits of success.

Ready to embody the power of change?

Let’s chat about how I can help!