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Do You have a Mantra?
11 years ago
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Hey, everyone! I got to thinking today, and I was wondering how many of you have mantras that you follow or hold dearly.
Mine, at the moment, is "Existence is more meaningful than perfection."
It's along the same lines of "It's better to try and fail than never try at all," but it puts it in more personal words that are more effective to me.
For example, if I find myself struggling with a piece because I'm frustrated that it isn't -just- how I want it to be, I remind myself of this. It's better I finish it and move on, than allow perfectionism to keep me standing in one place, stagnating.
When I feel intimidated by a piece I want to draw, because of the pose, or some grandeur holding me back, I remind myself of this. If perfection is keeping me from living, from existing, from creating, than it isn't worth it. It's far more important, and has far more influence on the universe, to make an imperfect mark, than to never make any mark at all for fear of a mistake.
This can sometimes conflict with "Quality over Quantity." I find it's better for me to make 100 loose, gestural sketches that all have mistakes than one really great finished piece that I really nitpicked over. Growth wise, I improve much faster. I don't have time to linger over mistakes and feel bad. It keeps me young, and fresh, and it helps keep that weight off of my shoulder that art can sometimes be when it becomes more stressful than fun.
That's essentially why I came up with the mantra, because I wanted to focus on keeping art fun, rather than a chore, but it applies very well to risk taking throughout all of life's aspects.
Do you have your own mantra that gets you through your personal struggle? Please tell me!
Mine, at the moment, is "Existence is more meaningful than perfection."
It's along the same lines of "It's better to try and fail than never try at all," but it puts it in more personal words that are more effective to me.
For example, if I find myself struggling with a piece because I'm frustrated that it isn't -just- how I want it to be, I remind myself of this. It's better I finish it and move on, than allow perfectionism to keep me standing in one place, stagnating.
When I feel intimidated by a piece I want to draw, because of the pose, or some grandeur holding me back, I remind myself of this. If perfection is keeping me from living, from existing, from creating, than it isn't worth it. It's far more important, and has far more influence on the universe, to make an imperfect mark, than to never make any mark at all for fear of a mistake.
This can sometimes conflict with "Quality over Quantity." I find it's better for me to make 100 loose, gestural sketches that all have mistakes than one really great finished piece that I really nitpicked over. Growth wise, I improve much faster. I don't have time to linger over mistakes and feel bad. It keeps me young, and fresh, and it helps keep that weight off of my shoulder that art can sometimes be when it becomes more stressful than fun.
That's essentially why I came up with the mantra, because I wanted to focus on keeping art fun, rather than a chore, but it applies very well to risk taking throughout all of life's aspects.
Do you have your own mantra that gets you through your personal struggle? Please tell me!
I also love "Do no harm but take no shit." It's more my lifestyle mantra. Keeps reminding me that I don't have to lay down and take bullshit just to keep the peace. I'm not a vengeful or angry person by nature but it is not vengeance to protect myself or my loved ones.