Mable Tan

DESIGNS

Be Imperfectly Perfectly You

It’s Friday morning in Melbourne. I’ve finished my 8km walk, and having a cup of tea (I’m trying to cut down on coffee). My wonderful father-in-law has just taken my son to the aquarium for the day which means, I’m FREE to concentrate on work.

Mommas, you KNOW what it is like. We love our kids but on days when we have time to ourselves, it is AH-mazing (and a little confusing, cos suddenly there’s all this time)!

No One Knows What They’re Doing

Just the other day, someone commented that I was doing a good job with my Facebook group and my immediate response was, “I’m winging it gurl!

Like seriously, I did not have a 10-step plan when I started the group. Heck, I didn’t even know I was going to start it until the day I posted it up on social media. And then it was, ‘Uh-oh, I have to follow this through’.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t impulsive. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I knew it would be beneficial to do it. Like, you guys know I’ve been sharing tips about art licensing on Instagram for months now.

Done is Better Than Perfect

So, here’s the thing about me: I act when I’m imperfectly perfect.

I am never 100% ready when I launch something. I don’t wait for perfection. I do the necessary research, processing and take action when my gut instinct says, ‘It is TIME‘.

I am mindful of the ‘perfectionist paralysis’ syndrome. Have you heard of that? No? Well, good, cos I just made it up. But you know what I mean right? As women, we tend to comb through all the fine details (and possibly, comb through it again) and launch things only when it is ‘perfect’. But guess what, there is no such thing as perfect to a perfectionist (yup, I’m looking at you, sister). And by the time we might be ready to launch something, the boat may have sailed!

Are You Good Enough? YES!

I think some of it stems from feeling like imposters. We don’t feel like we have permission to be XYZ because we don’t feel good enough, qualified enough, skilled enough, confident enough, (fill in the blanks) enough. Babes, I totally know how you feel, because just today, I was thinking, ‘What am I doing on my Facebook group? I’m not a teacher! Someone’s going to call me out as a fraud!

It’s a total confidence buster!

I Know Enough…

Here’s how I tackle it though:

First, I calm down (hence the tea), and tell myself, I know enough. I know enough to share with you on how to get licensed. I know enough about surface pattern design. I know enough about how to negotiate with clients. I don’t know EVERYTHING about the job, BUT I do know enough, and I think there are people who need to know just that ‘enough’ in order to move on to the next step. I don’t need to be perfect, I just need to be imperfectly perfect. And I invite you to be that too.

There is never a perfect moment to finish that collection, send that portfolio, make a website, start a Facebook group. Take one baby step at a time towards your goal and before you know it, you are THERE.

Act Despite Of Fear

What are you not doing because of fear? And what steps can you do today or next week, to give yourself the permission to let go of that fear and take action?

Just remember, your work is beautiful and it deserves to be out in the world.

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@mabletandesigns

Hi, I'm Mable! I'm a surface pattern designer. I'm passionate about creating designs that adds prettiness to every day life.

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