Do you strive for flawlessness in your art while setting excessively high standards for yourself?

Do you desire for your writing, art, business idea or performance to be perfect before you put it out to the world?

Do your critical self-evaluations and fears about what others will think stop you dead in your creative tracks and stuck in a no man’s land between your creative potential and discouragement?

It’s time to break out of prison.

Suzanne was desperate as she called my office. It had been many years since she had entered her prison of perfectionism and was desperate to see if I could help her break out.

An amazing French Horn player, Suzanne knew how to play all the correct notes and, although technically on the mark, was continually held back by her desire to perform perfectly while avoiding making a mistake.

In tears, she shared that she had tried almost everything in an attempt to break free, but nothing seemed to work.

With an important audition coming up, she found herself sitting in her emotional prison cell, afraid to perform with passion, convinced that her abilities were not enough and that she would never accomplish her dreams of becoming a professional musician.

Her drive towards perfectionism led to emotional paralysis, resulting in poor performing and a continued sense of shame. She had come to replace passion and freedom with a prison of perfectionism.

I agreed that it was time for Suzanne and I to plan her ‘prison break’.

4 Steps to Breaking Out of the Prison of Perfectionism:

PRISON BREAK STEP 1 – Replace Your Unrealistic Expectations “The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.” – Eugene Delacroix

By setting excessively high performance standards, passion gets replaced with a focus on the mechanical or technical. Although it is critical to develop skills and practice technique, when its time to go for it, let go and perform with passion.

Have you ever heard a Speaker who is so polished that their lack of authentic passion puts you to sleep? Wake up those around you by giving yourself permission to go for it.

The big lie is “Performing (or creating) means doing things perfectly, without any flaws.” “Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it. “ ~Salvador Dali

PRISON BREAK STEP 2 – Stop Your Critical and Judgmental Beatings

The perfectionist is overly critical with their self-evaluations and concerns regarding what other people think.

By listening to the critical voices in our head we risk our unique voice being silenced.

English writer G.K. Chesterton said, “If something is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”

Perfectionism never comes and its pursuit never ends! Allow yourself to do poorly, to create “bad” work, to stop being self-critical. Tell that inner voice to be quiet – it’s time to have some fun creating and performing.

PRISON BREAK STEP 3 – You Are Not What You Create

When we over identify with our work, we run the risk of believing that our worth and value is based on how well we create, on how others perceive our work.

Perfectionism can lead to a cycle of shame (“I’m not good enough” … “Who do I think I am?”) that leads to playing it safe and putting off letting the world see our work (“It’s better to wait until it’s perfect than face possible rejection.”)

When things are going well, a perfectionist feels like they are valuable and important, yet, if it does not go perfectly, then their sense of self and esteem goes down the drain.

Breaking out of prison includes believing that as much as I want my work to be accepted, I am still of value no matter what the response is. “I’m not what I ought (or was created) to be, but I’m not what I used to be,
and by God’s grace, I’m not what I’m going to be.” ~Josh McDowell

PRISON BREAK STEP 4 – Focus on the Process, NOT the Outcome

As we focus on a perfect outcome, our level of fear and anxiety rises, which then interferes with our creative process. Perfectionism takes us on a journey from risk-taking and creative exploration to feeling imprisoned with self-doubt.

Perfectionists become obsessed with the final outcome of their creative efforts and step out of the present into the future filled with anxiety. “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done (or shipped!)”
~Ecclesiastes 11:4

A key to breaking out of our self-imposed prison is focusing on being present and mindful with realistic process goals. Breath slowly and fully before you attempt to break free. Stay present in the moment with your art and creativity, and do not look too far ahead in anxious anticipation.

“Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person.” ~ Dr. David M. Burns

To sum up our Prison Break Plan:

1) Start with realistic expectations
2) Move creatively forward without critical and judgmental thinking
3) Finish your work with out over identifying with it
4) Move on to your next project, returning to a focus on the process

Enjoy your freedom!

Question: As you plan your own ‘prison break’ out of perfectionism, which step is most crucial for you to begin with? Would you like to add any other steps to the Plan?

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I am so pleased to share with you an amazing Project that I have been a part of for the past few months.

It takes a lot to live your dream of succeeding as a writer, painter, craftsperson, filmmaker, or other creative person.

There’s no magic bullet or single piece of advice that’s going to make that dream come true.

But there’s a ton of great information in The Great Creativity Toolkit, Eric Maisel’s newest program for creatives like you. He’s gathered together more than 40 of the world’s top creativity coaches (including myself) and asked them, “What one lesson do you want to share with creatives?” And they shared!

What you get in The Great Creativity Toolkit is the best of the best—top creativity coaches providing their top lessons for creatives!

I am privileged to have contributed 3 Video Lessons as a part of the Toolkit (The Power of Persistence, Creative Anxiety and Overcoming Stage Fright).

The Great Creativity Toolkit is a brand-new program that will really help you live your best creative life possible. Check it out here!

Have you ever had a performance situation in which you pictured it going poorly?

Maybe you were going to speak in front of a large group, go to a possible career-changing interview, play in an important golf tournament, ask someone on a date or audition for a part in a theater production.

As you began to see it going poorly you became more and more anxious.

The ability to perform at our absolute best, when it really matters, is often a result of how we anticipate and ‘visualize’ the situation.

One of my mentors, Dr. Don Greene, has said,

“Prior to performing, what you ‘see’ in your mind, whether its weeks or just days before, will tend to become who you are in that situation.”

I have found that Visualization is a performance enhancement skill that is very powerful when it is practiced and applied. It is a skill that allows you, as a performer, to rehearse, review and focus on optimal performance.

Ironically, many performers use imagery in a negative way, that is, they ‘picture’ themselves performing poorly and subsequently express this negative rehearsal through an anxiety-filled performance.

Visualization is one of the most effective techniques for you to use in preparing for optimal performance. If you cannot imagine performing well then you have very little chance of actually doing that, especially during a pressure situation.

Enhancing your performance includes practicing the technique of Visualization to achieve your best. I will use the fear of public speaking (which creates anxiety for most people!) as an example to describe the 6 key steps to practice:

1) Start with a clear intention. What is it that you intend to achieve in your performance? For example, is your intention to give your speech in a relaxed way, feeling in complete control of yourself?

2) Center yourself physically and mentally. Take a slow, deep focused breath to slow down any anxiety or stress during your mental rehearsal.

3) Imagine what your intention would look like. Try to see, feel, and hear yourself doing well as you give a powerful and effective presentation. Break up your mental rehearsal performance into segments, i.e. see yourself preparing to give you presentation, then picture the next segment as you are being introduced, then as you walk up to present, etc. Picture each of these segments as clearly as possible.

4) Use all of your senses. Picture yourself walking up to speak, feel your hands on the podium, hear yourself as your words come out smoothly and effortlessly, listen to the audience applauding your speech, feel how great it feels to walk off knowing you did a great job!

5) Correct your mistakes. You will discover that even during Visualization you will find yourself picturing making a mistake or becoming afraid. So you need to stop the tape and rewind! Yes, go back in your rehearsal to the spot where you ‘messed ‘up’ and continue from there with a picture of you doing well. Correct your mistake until you can clearly see yourself doing well.

6) Be creative and have fun! Visualization is a very powerful technique that can be used in any performance situation. Expand using this technique in new situations until you become better and better at it.

Practice Visualization and make it a valuable skill in you performance enhancement ‘toolbox’.

Your real-life performance will continue to improve the more that you can ‘experience’ (see, hear and feel) the performance in your Visualization. Have fun practicing this powerful skill!

As a creative or performer, I suspect that there are times that you find yourself feeling challenged to stay engaged with your projects, to persevere, to hang tough and not give up. Persistence is often an ongoing challenge, one that, if not managed well, can lead to creative stagnation and a falling short of achieving your creative and business goals.

In this video I share 3 Powerful Steps towards becoming mentally tough through persistence. I hope that you enjoy it and find it valuable!

Click here to watch!

If fear creates obstacles in your life, performance or business, I hope that these 10 tips are valuable during times of feeling extreme anxiety and panic.

1. If you feel frightened, unreal or unsteady – it does not matter. These feelings are nothing more than an exaggeration of your body’s normal reaction to stress.

2. Just because you have these sensations doesn’t mean you are very sick. These feelings are just unpleasant and frightening, not dangerous. Nothing worse will happen to you.

3. Let your feelings come. They have been in charge of you. You’ve been pumping them up and making them more acute. Stop escalating the feelings! Don’t run away from panic. When you feel the panic mount, take a deep breath and as you breathe out, let go. Keep trying. Stay there almost as if you were floating in space. Don’t fight the feelings of panic. Accept it. You can do it!

4. Try to make yourself as comfortable as possible without escaping. If you are on the street, lean against a post or store wall. If you’re in a store, tell the sales person you don’t feel well and want to sit awhile. Do not jump in your car and go home in fear.

5. Stop adding to your panic with frightening thoughts about what is happening and where it might lead. Don’t indulge in your feelings and think, “Why can’t I be like all the other normal people? Why do I have to go through this?” Just accept what is happening to you. If you do this, what you fear most will not happen.

6. Think about what is really happening to your body at this moment. Do not think, “Something terrible is going to happen. I must get out.” Repeat to yourself, “I will not fall, faint, die, or lose control.”

7. Now wait and give the fear time to pass. Do not run away. Others have found the strength. You will, too. Notice that as you stop adding to the frightening thoughts to your panic, the fear starts to fade away by itself.

8. This is your opportunity to practice. Think of it that way. Even if you feel isolated, one of these days you will not feel that way. Sometime soon you will be able to go through the panic and say, “I did it.” Once you say this, you will have gone a long way toward conquering fear.

9. Try to distract yourself from what is going on inside you. Look at your surroundings. See the other people on the street, in the store. They are with you, not against you.

10. When the panic subsides, let your body go loose, take a breath, and go on with your day. Remember, each time you cope with panic, you reduce fear.