Not perfect can be good enough

I bought a painting a few years ago that hangs in our bedroom and is emblazoned with the quote, "I know well from what I flee, but not what I'm in search of." That's how I feel often in life, that I'm escaping displeasure without really knowing what will make me happy.

I'm in the middle of Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream by Whitney Johnson, which I came across after her interview with the Good Life Project. Whitney, who has accomplished so much in her life fearlessly, saw other women around her who didn't have the same inspired dreams she does, but were also not fulfilled. Her book is meant to inspire them to dare to dream, to recognize their dreams and have the courage to follow them. It's definitely given me some of her courage and open-mindedness.

One of the stories just touched off a spark. A contributor writes about how she encouraged her son to draw as she read him a story. As he drew, he realized that his images didn't quite stack up to the professional illustrations that accompanied his favorite books. His wasn't good enough. Instead of enjoying the experience, he threw a temper tantrum and drew big, dark lines over his work. His wasn't good enough and no one would see it.

It made me wonder how many times I cast my work aside when I'm not happy with it or, even worse, refuse to start a project if I don't think I can succeed. I'm driven by success. Without it, I'm not really interested.

Now I realize that I'm selling myself short. If I don't let myself do, even if I might fail, I'm going to miss out on the many achievements I could have and success may elude me.