Shut Up and Say Thank You
Once upon a time, I spent three or four days trying to correct a mistake on a mohair shawl that no one would ever see except for me. I did just about everything I could possibly think of - from tinking back to dropping stitches down - in an obsessive attempt to fix what would make absolutely no difference to the finished piece. Those of you who've worked with laceweight mohair know what a horrible process this must have been.
Several days later, I shared this whole story with my therapist as we discussed my perfectionist issues. She very astutely said something along the lines of, 'and I just bet you will never be able to accept a compliment on it without pointing out your supposed mistake.'
That very night I took the shawl with me on my Mommy's Night Off to show it to a friend. Sure enough, as soon as she complimented me on its beauty I showed her the mistake without even thinking about what I was doing. It wasn't perfect, it was flawed, and therefor it was less than. Never mind the puzzled expression on my friend's face as she tried to see what apparently only I could see.
I'm telling this story because I had the exact same reaction to your support over my last post. Instead of just being pleased, I immediately wanted to sit down and tell you all exactly what was wrong with that drawing, and why it wasn't a great example of art.
Of course, the Green Woman promptly whacked me over the head with the nearest book she could find...and as it was a compendium of fairy tales it was quite heavy.
And so, Thank You. I appreciate your support, and I will take your words sincerely to heart. You're right, it is a pretty good picture...and I just might have some talent after all.
Several days later, I shared this whole story with my therapist as we discussed my perfectionist issues. She very astutely said something along the lines of, 'and I just bet you will never be able to accept a compliment on it without pointing out your supposed mistake.'
That very night I took the shawl with me on my Mommy's Night Off to show it to a friend. Sure enough, as soon as she complimented me on its beauty I showed her the mistake without even thinking about what I was doing. It wasn't perfect, it was flawed, and therefor it was less than. Never mind the puzzled expression on my friend's face as she tried to see what apparently only I could see.
I'm telling this story because I had the exact same reaction to your support over my last post. Instead of just being pleased, I immediately wanted to sit down and tell you all exactly what was wrong with that drawing, and why it wasn't a great example of art.
Of course, the Green Woman promptly whacked me over the head with the nearest book she could find...and as it was a compendium of fairy tales it was quite heavy.
And so, Thank You. I appreciate your support, and I will take your words sincerely to heart. You're right, it is a pretty good picture...and I just might have some talent after all.
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