So I completed a weekend project in a weekend….well kinda sorta. But for me to finish a personal project in less than ten days is a feat (woot woot, *pats self on back*) I painted a small wall in my bedroom with chalkboard paint so that I can use it to put up a calendar and write notes and lists, I love lists!
When I was putting on the first coat of paint I panicked because it was soooo streaky, and I immediately reread the instructions to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I waited the 24 hours as instructed then started on the second coat. By the finish of the second coat it was looking very good and I had a sigh of relief and feeling of pride in my work.
Lesson 1: just because something isn’t turning out exactly how you had in mind, don’t quit; continue on and it might just turn out to be exactly what you needed/wanted.
I had to wait a day between the coats and before I could use it. I set up the calendar grid with chalk paint markers and wrote in some things with a chalk “writable” (you can find it on Amazon) and sharpened some traditional chalk with a pencil sharpener to use them to write smaller. When my roomie came home after I finished writing all the days, dates and month on top she goes “why is Wednesday so much bigger?” I shrugged and said “I don’t know, climatic part of the week? Hump day?” She was not saying this out of malice, or harsh critique; my roomie/friend/”sister” is awesome, and very supportive and wanted this to be perfect to photograph; she pushes me to be my best.
Lesson 2 ( a little bit longer): “there is nothing exciting about being perfect” –Emma Watson
I have never strived to be perfect. Do I strive to do my very best? Yes. I think I do a very good job of setting my expectations, especially for myself. If I would have obsessed about every single line, every single letter height, every single number I would have lost the joy of something really awesome. My calendar is extra functional and still looks great even with the uneven lettering, lol. I learned at a very young age about letting go of perfection. When I was in fourth or fifth grade, I lived in Tucson, Arizona, and in class we were learning about the Hopi People, a Native American tribe and their traditional Kachina dolls. We were actually making our own versions in class, and I made a mistake or did something I didn’t like and our cultural instructor said, “it’s ok, the flaws let the evil spirits escape” How powerful is that?!?! That day I learned about the beauty of imperfection, and it has stuck with me. I think obsessing over perfection causes undue stress. I am not saying be lazy or have low expectations. Always work hard, do your best, but let go of the idea of perfection- there’s no such thing, at least I don’t think so!
What are your thoughts on perfection, or the lack thereof? Let me know!