Friday, November 20, 2009

THE GREEN BERET 46/365


"If you don't tell me the rules, I can't play the game. I'll only play the game if I know ALL of the rules and I UNDERSTAND all of the rules so that I don't BREAK any of them. Rules are important and they shouldn't be broken. A broken rule means the game is over which means no one wins and nothing gets accomplished and I like to ACCOMPLISH things and I like to accomplish things perfectly. You can't accomplish anything without rules and you can't accomplish them PERFECTLY if you don't FOLLOW them."

My Reflection:

I think it's okay to have rules as long as I keep them in perspective especially the ones about safe driving or filling out my tax return. But, when the "rules" rule me, I find my "creativity" flies right out the window and because "rules" and "creativity" don't get along so well, one or the other usually has to go. I try not to strive for perfection either because I've noticed that "perfection" and "creativity" are like oil and water and mixing them will get me nowhere.

Making a mistake (breaking a rule) used to stop me cold with questions like; "what if I'm wrong...what if it doesn't look good....what if no one likes it....what if I fail?" I finally figured out that if I wanted to be creative, I had to learn to "break the rules" - to risk failure - and above all else...not strive for "perfection." Besides, "perfection" takes the soul out of whatever I'm doing and I think that the "soul" of an activity or a piece of art is what makes it successful - not it's perfection.

"Perfection" is like buying a "paint-by-numbers" kit - it may be painted "perfectly" but isn't creatively admired.

Question:
What rules are you willing to break?

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