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If you’re sick of perfectionism running your life and want to make a change in 2026, I’m here to help. As a recovering perfectionist myself, I’ve written this post about how to overcome perfectionism using a creative practice. Nothing has helped me combat perfectionism quite as much as being creative and making art and I have a feeling this same approach can be helpful for you too. In this post, we’ll break down what perfectionism is, how it impacts us, and how our creative practice can be a great tool for fighting against it.

What is perfectionism?

First things first, it’s important to understand what perfectionism is.

Many perfectionists think they aren’t actually a perfectionist because the things they do or make aren’t anywhere close to perfect. For the longest time, I adamantly denied that I was a perfectionist because I’d look at the academic work I did, the things I made, etc. and think to myself “there is so much room for improvement.” I have long been my toughest critic and because I was so critical of myself, all I could see were the flaws. And obviously, if the things I did weren’t turning out perfectly, I couldn’t be a perfectionist, right? That right there is perfectionism.

Being a perfectionist does not mean that everything you do is done perfectly. Perfectionism is the tendency to strive for perfection. It means that you hold yourself to very high standards, want to do things flawlessly, and tend to be very critical towards yourself.

Often, if you are a perfectionist, you will create really high-quality work that other people find very impressive yet you can only focus on the things that didn’t quite measure up to expectations. The concept of something being “good enough” is one you find very hard to accept.

Usually, this expectation of perfection is directed mainly or only towards yourself, but there is also “other-oriented” perfectionism, where you hold other people to unrealistic standards. (Think, for example, of the parent that wants their kid to be an all-star athlete and a straight-A student.)

For our purposes, we’ll be focusing on self-directed perfectionism in this post.

Negative impacts of perfectionism

Perfectionism is not necessarily an inherently bad thing. There can be healthy forms of perfectionism that motivate you to do the best you can and push you to be successful.

However, if you are wondering how to overcome perfectionism, that is likely not what you’re experiencing. You’re probably struggling with an unhealthy perfectionism and its probably negatively impacting you.

I could go on for a long time about the negative impacts of perfectionism, but to keep it short, I’ll give just a few examples.

One negative consequence of perfectionism is procrastination or even a complete failure to get things done. Because you are worried you won’t be able to live up to your own expectations, you often push things off as long as possible. If there’s no real deadline (for example, ”this school or work project is due on December 20th”), this can lead to you pushing it off longer and longer and longer. “I’ll do it later when I feel ready” can easily lead to an abandoned project that never gets done. You may have goals for yourself that you desperately want to achieve, but your perfectionism leads to self-sabotage that stops you from truly pursuing them.

This is something I have dealt with, and continue to deal with, a LOT. It’s really frustrating because the things that you end up indefinitely delaying are often the things you want to do for yourself, not things that you have to do because of outside responsibilities.

Perfectionism can also have a lot of mental health consequences. If all you’re ever noticing are the ways in which you’re falling short, that can really impact your self-esteem and can cause feelings of unworthiness. A lot of people also feel like other people are holding them to the same unrealistic standards (whether that’s true or not) and so perfectionism can also cause relationship problems or social isolation. It can contribute to full-blown mental illnesses like depression and anxiety disorders as well.

You’re really setting yourself up for failure if you’re a perfectionist because perfection is impossible to attain.

If these are the ways you’re being impacted by it, it’s no surprise you’re looking for how to overcome perfectionism.

You may be wondering why I’m talking about perfectionism on a blog that’s about creativity and that’s a very valid question.

There are 2 main reasons I’m sharing this. The first is because I think perfectionism is one of the biggest barriers to people really being in touch with their creativity. The second is because I have found that pursuing creativity is a really good way to combat perfectionism.

How perfectionism stops you from being creative

Remember how I said perfectionism can lead to you procrastinating on or even completely abandoning projects or goals?

I see so many people who get easily discouraged when trying to learn a new creative skill or even just trying to re-engage with a creative hobby they used to enjoy. They try to crochet their first plushie and when it comes out misshapen, they’ll decide they’re just not any good at crocheting and stop trying. They try to paint some beautiful flowers and when the painting looks more like an assortment of blobs than the pretty floral designs they used to make, they’ll decide they’re not good at painting anymore and won’t pick up the paints again.

Perfectionism can make it difficult to learn new skills because it makes it hard to allow yourself to be a beginner. In order to be a beginner, you have to accept that things are not going to come out the way you might’ve imagined, but that with practice, you’ll get better and better. But being a perfectionist often makes it difficult to accept those things. You want everything you make to be perfect automatically, even if you logically know that’s not going to be possible right away.

I don’t want perfectionism to steal your creativity from you. There are so many reasons why engaging your creativity is important and you deserve to reap those benefits!

How your creative practice can help you work on perfectionism

If you can push through the discomfort of not being good at something, building a consistent creative practice can be a really great tool for managing perfectionism.

As I mentioned earlier, perfection is an impossible goal. This is especially true when it comes to creative endeavors because no one will agree on what “perfect” art is. It’s not just impossible to attain – it’s impossible to even define. Using art to combat perfectionism is pretty easy when you consider that fact.

Perfectionism and creativity simply can’t coexist. If you want to build creative skills and establish creative hobbies, you have to push yourself to accept that your art is not going to look identical to what you were picturing.

I can’t even tell you how many creative hobbies I have abandoned in the past because I hated how my first attempt came out. It sounds kind of ridiculous – I mean, how can you possibly expect yourself to create something amazing the first time you try a new skill? – but I would get really frustrated and discouraged because I didn’t want to have to make “bad” art.

If you’ve been here for some time, you probably know that I love to crochet. If you’ve seen any pictures of things I’ve made, you probably also know that I’m quite good at it. That is not a coincidence. The reason I’m good at crocheting is that I very intentionally forced myself to stick with it when I first started learning. I created a sort of mantra for myself, repeating “I’m going to have to practice for things I make to look good,” until eventually, things I made started to look the way I really wanted them to.

There were definitely times where I would try to make something and it would come out really wonky. I’d sit there and feel the perfectionism and self-doubt creep in. Why do I keep trying if I can’t even sew these arms on evenly? But I’d repeat my mantra and force myself to keep practicing and learning.

Now, I can make things that look a hell of a lot better than those beginner projects. On top of that, I notice that I’m much less bothered by my crochet projects not looking perfect every time. Amigurumi (crochet plushies, for those who don’t know) can still be a challenge for me sometimes and so things may not be perfectly even or symmetrical. But I’m ok with that because I’m still learning and improving. My experience is proof of how creativity helps with a perfectionist mindset.

Key Takeaways

• Perfectionism is about harsh self-criticism, not flawless results. You hold yourself to unrealistic standards and struggle to see your work as “good enough,” even when others think it’s great.
• Unhealthy perfectionism leads to procrastination and abandoned goals. Fear of not meeting your own expectations makes you delay projects, especially the ones that matter to you the most.
• Perfectionism hurts mental health and relationships. It chips away at self-esteem and increases anxiety.
• Perfectionism blocks creativity by not letting you be a beginner. When your first attempts look “bad,” you decide you’re not talented and quit instead of giving yourself time to learn.
• A regular creative practice is a powerful way to work on healing perfectionism. Art has no single “perfect” standard, so it forces you to accept imperfections and keep going anyway.
• Intentional habits make improving perfectionist tendencies possible. Something simple like a personal mantra can help you stay with the process, reduce perfectionist thoughts, and build a creative life.

It’s not going to come naturally or easily, but you really can learn how to let go of perfectionism using art. You’ll have to be intentional and perhaps a bit stubborn to keep yourself working through it, but I promise it can be done! In the end, you’ll notice how your art can reduce perfectionist tendencies and you’ll see that you’re healing perfectionism in various aspects of your life while also building an awesome creative habit.

If you want some help finding something to repeat to yourself when you’re feeling discouraged, get the creativity-themed positive affirmation cards I made by signing up for my email newsletter. There are quite a few cards in there that help target those perfectionist thoughts that come up when you’re creating.