This ancient Japanese concept fixed me.
Read time: 1 min 23 secs
Wait, what?
You read that right.
An ancient Japanese concept cured my obsession with perfectionism.
Yes, you also read that right.
I’m just another “internet creator” listing “perfectionism” as my biggest flaw.
Sorry for being so perfect—just kidding!
Perfectionism seems like a good problem to have, but it isn’t.
It paralyzed me.
I wanted to share my illustrations on the internet but I kept comparing myself to established creators.
Everything had to be perfect, so it took me half a year to share my first visual idea…
After that, I dropped the ball—it was too much to handle. And I didn’t get back on track until I discovered…
Wabi-Sabi.
No, it’s not the spicy ingredient you’re thinking about—that’s wasabi!
Wabi-Sabi (侘び寂び) is an ancient Japanese philosophy rooted in Zen Buddhism that finds beauty in the cracks and flaws of any given object or creation.
It might be enjoying the unique shape of a handmade bowl, the cracks and ageing of wood, or the worn and colored pages of an old book.
Suddenly, what I had been constantly battling against became a benefit, not a bug.
Embracing imperfetions is the antidote to perfetionism.
Before starting a new project, consider how to purposefully make it imperfect!
Allowing yourself to make mistakes takes a huge weight off your shoulders.
It also helps you stand out in this age of AI, where imperfections make you more human and authentic.
If you’re ambitious and still want to aim for perfection, this quote may help you:
“Achieve perfection by iteration, not revision.”
The sustainable path to building something remarkable is getting better through incremental changes.
Perfection by revision means hitting “publish” only once your project is exactly how you imagined it.
Perfection by iteration means quickly hitting “publish,” gathering feedback, and making a better version. Then repeating the cycle.
Ironically, you’ll get much closer to perfection if you let imperfection guide you.
Today is a beautiful day to embrace wabi-sabi (not wasabi!).
Much love and respect,
(299 of 500 words)