Written by Nikki Davis
I was asked a few weeks ago if I would write this blog post. I was told it could be about anything I felt like talking about. Now, writing isn’t one of my strongest suits, especially when I am free to write without any direction. I did what I always do…worried over whether I could write anything worthwhile and put it off as long as possible. Then when I was online, I came across a story that inspired me. I would like to start by telling this story from the book Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland:
A ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality.
His procedure was simple: on the final day of class, he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pounds of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot – albeit a perfect one – to get an “A”.
Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning out piles of work – and learning from their mistakes – the “quality” group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.
I find that this story illustrates my biggest challenge in life. I often get so focused on perfection that I become intimidated and never start. I would like to challenge you all this month to change your perspective and experience those things that you have been too scared to try.
How many times have you attempted a new skill or hobby only to give up shortly after? Too often in life, we give up because something doesn’t come as easy to us as we expect. We often claim it is too hard, or that we can never be good at it since we are struggling in the moment. How many joys could we be missing out on if we don’t continue? Our fear of failure is powerful, so we need to start training our minds to view it differently. Whether it be a language, instrument, art skill, computer program, or even a math problem, we need to learn how to push past our initial self-doubt. No matter the skill, we will always improve with practice and eventually, we will conquer it. Failure only occurs when we stop. The students in the story were given the task of creating every day. They no longer feared failure, and because they continued to try over and over again, they were able to create a perfect pot.
We also have to stop comparing everything we do with others. My family and I recently went on a trip where we attended a drawing class. We learned how to draw a certain cartoon character, and when we were done, my son was very upset because his drawing didn’t look as good as mine or my daughter’s. He’s seven. He stopped drawing at one point because he felt his would never match ours. This is an attitude we often face. We compare our own endeavors to those of our peers. If we truly want to succeed, we need to change our approach. Try to avoid judging your achievements by the achievements of others. You have no idea what that person has done to get to their current skill level. Everyone is on their own journey. You are on your own path and should measure your success by how much you have improved. I will often look over older artwork of mine and see how far I have come. It is important to celebrate our own improvement. That should be our only real definition of success.
Most importantly, don’t let yourself stop doing something you love based on how it will measure up to others. Keep doing what you love, even if it is not perfect. The joy will come from the doing, not necessarily the final product. If you keep trying, you will learn from your mistakes and get better. Don’t be afraid to develop your own style and technique. Be yourself and enjoy every new skill and lesson. That is how we grow to be better people.
In closing, I challenge you to go out into the world and try new things without fear of failure. The first step is not only the hardest but the most important. Try not to judge yourself by others, and endeavor to find new activities that bring you joy. Don’t be afraid to do things your way. You may find it is the best way. No matter what, be like the quantity potters and keep doing, for eventually, success will be yours.