Perfectionism is the enemy of the multi-passionate creative.
Of course, it’s a problem for any creative, but for the serial hobbyist, perfectionism can be particularly stifling. Why? The tendency to deep-dive into many topics or hobbies often means that perfection is out of the question. This can makes us question what the point of it all is, and so we stop bothering altogether.
I often stick with something just until I accomplish whatever it was that got me interested in the first place. Then it’s onto the next (likely unrelated) thing! The perfectionist in me is fuming.
Why could I not just pick one thing and get really good at it?
Don’t let perfectionism stop you from starting something new
I was often frustrated that I couldn’t just stick to one or two things and get proficient. Every time I veered in a new direction, a part of me felt like we were missing an opportunity.
An opportunity for what, though?
As a self-proclaimed serial hobbyist, a big part of living a creative life is about having flexibility. I need to follow my curiosities, to try new things, and to appreciate where they intersect or diverge. Apart from writing, my interests come and go like seasons.
There’s too much joy to be found in just exploring.
So, why not flip the script? I realized that I could lean into this tendency toward random deep-dives as a strength. Indulging in a new outlet frequently means I’ll end up knowing “a little about a lot”. I kind-of love that for me. It also provides a new opportunity: to make uncommon connections between it all.
Is that not the cornerstone of creativity?
Of course, it is incredible and admirable when someone dedicates their life to learning a craft. The work that comes from such dedication is amazing. It’s just not for everyone, and almost certainly not for me.
It sure is tempting to try, though.
Social media and the perfectionism trap
Some people find great joy in mastering one thing – others find great joy in knowing a little about a lot. Both have value, and neither should compare themselves to the other. “Comparison is the thief of joy”, as they say.
Most of us have at least a little bit of a tendency toward perfectionism to contend with. If we’re going to spend our precious time learning a craft, we want to do the best we can, right? So when it comes to hobbies, we do them for fun, but we also want to be good at them.
It’s not enough just to be good at them, though. We need to be able to show that we are good at them. If it’s not on your social media feeds, did it even really happen? I’m kidding, but not – I do think social media culture has caused us to forget how to do things just for the joy of doing them.
Piling on, with the advent of social media it’s almost like there’s no excuse not to be good at things. No matter what you’re into, there are tutorials and experts abound. Even if you wish to ignore them, almighty algorithm will make sure you can’t. So much as think about starting a new hobby, and you’ll be inundated with the best and the brightest the web can find.
Which can be inspiring. Motivating, even!
It can also feed into the idea that what you’re seeing is what the average person can do (it’s not). It creates the illusion that this is what your favourite artist, writer, or breakdancer can bust out on any given Tuesday afternoon (again, it’s not). We forget that what we’re consuming are curated pieces of the best a niche has to offer. We start to view everyone’s “best” as the societal “average”, making your “average”… Disappointingly sub-par.
Algorithms help us find what we’re looking for. They also make it clear to creators what people are not looking for. It’s discouraging to be frequently reminded that very few people are interested in things made well below “master” level. We feel this, even in our private creative practices. Multiply it for the multi-passionate creatives.
It’s easy to freefall into this belief that a hobby isn’t worthwhile unless we can dedicate enough time and effort to get good at it. Otherwise, what’s the point?
So we might decide to be diligent and dedicate that time and effort after all. Is that what we really want, though? What if you’re not totally in love with the process for the long-haul? Then your hobby becomes more like a job you must dedicate yourself to… Except you don’t need another job.
You need a creative outlet – something fun, just for you.
Exploring your creativity is the point.
Yes, even if you don’t master the skill!
Thinking back to my struggles with “concise blogging”, I realized that if I was going to be an excellent blogger, it was going to take a lot of time and effort. Just the act of writing concisely itself takes a lot of work and an ironically large amount of time. Forget the ideation, getting into the mind of the reader, and time spent editing your work down.
To change my approach and my mindset was the way out of the perfectionism trap. I focus less on the end-goal, and more on the stuff that I want to try. I’m learning to learn how to “leave it on the page”, and to simply enjoy what I’m doing, right where my skill level is at.
I still work diligently on the blog, but I allow my focus to shift as needed, based on my interests. Sometimes I’m working on efficiency, other times technical skills, readability, or organization. Frequently, I’m just trying to get an idea out.
Exploring my creativity is the point, and I won’t let perfectionism steal the joy from the process! (Although, skilled writing would be a wonderful side-benefit.)
Are you a multi-passionate creative? Would you rather master one thing, or know a little about a lot? How do you keep perfectionism from stopping you before you’ve even started?
