Pursuit of Perfect Pictures Prohibits Productivity
In his book, Atomic Habits, James Clear shares the story of Jerry Uelsmann, a professor at the University of Florida. Dr. Uelsmann divided his film photography students into two groups. He told one half of his class that they had to produce only one photo but to get an “A” it had to be of the highest quality. He told the second half of the class to simply produce as many pictures as they could without worrying too much about it being perfect.
Guess what happened. The class that was simply told to produce the most also produced the best quality while some of the class that focused only on one picture actually failed to finish one piece.
It seems what happened was that the class that was encouraged to create and given permission to make mistakes learned to be better photography skills through their mistakes. They also did not feel pressure to be “perfect” and were more playful and creative because of the added “freedom” that they felt.
In contrast, the other half of the class spent a great deal of time talking about what the perfect picture would be like instead of actually practicing the art of photography. They also felt so constrained by the burden of creating something “perfect” that it inhibited their creativity.
It is good to give “our best” to whatever we do. However, we have to keep an important tension. “Our best” also has to be balanced with a measure of grace.
We always have limited insight, talent, time, and resources. Everything we do happens in the context of the rest of our lives. Yes, we can be tempted to use this as an excuse for not really trying. However, what I see more is people getting discouraged, depressed, and anxious because they don’t feel anything they do is good enough. Sometimes they also conclude that they are not good enough either.
The “bad news” is very bad. If I set the bar at “perfect”, I will fail EVERY time. No one is perfect. If perfection is my goal I will likely procrastinate or resist taking on new challenges. I will not be creative, playful, or joyful and I will most likely become depressed.
However, the “good news” is very good. You and I do not have to be perfect to be fully human. Not only can we make mistakes, our “mistakes” might be our best teachers and even a source of inspiration to others.
One of my favorite memories of my son growing up is one that happened while he was playing soccer with his friends. His friend, Adam, who was playing forward, had a perfectly clear shot at the goal. He was undoubtably one of the best players on the team. He took the shot and watched as it sailed seven feet over the top of the goal. I groaned silently to myself, not because I was disappointed in him, but because I imagined him feeling lousy and embarrassed. However, to my surprise, he threw his head back and started laughing! I am sure that if he had scored that goal, I would have forgotten it by the end of the day. However, I still think of this often. I count it as one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen.
