029: Starting Imperfectly

When you want to start a new creative endeavor or hobby, sometimes the hardest part can be just that - getting started!
We tend to put so much pressure on ourselves and the idea of being “perfect” at lettering, cooking, singing, gardening or whatever hobby we want to start that we sabotage ourselves before even trying it.
In this episode, I want to encourage you to go in with the idea of starting imperfectly! I talk about why this will help you overcome fears as you’re trying out new hobbies and how to practice more self-compassion through the process.
What you’ll find in this episode:
Why you have to treasure the little flecks of gold in your days
The phases of starting a new hobby
Why you need to pay attention to what your brain is thinking
The benefits of creativity
Why you should plan on the first time to be imperfect
One of the biggest mantras I am adopting in my life
Why you have to adopt self-compassion
Read the transcript of the episode below:
All right. I think that we are in agreement now that a creative hobby is going to bless your life, but it can still be hard to get started. This is episode 29, starting imperfectly
Welcome to the committed, to create podcast. I'm Lisa Funk, and I am so excited to hang out with you here. As we talk about the power of creating with our hands and our minds, I like to keep it real, remind you that you are not alone and share specific ways creativity and mindfulness can help us live even more meaningful and joyful lives.
I am so glad that you're here.
Hello and welcome back to the podcast. I feel like I should be singing it as a jingle or something. And let me tell you, singing is not one of my natural skills. Okay. This is a good little tangent to have right now. Let's talk about how singing is not something that I am naturally good at. It's not something that I was born just doing perfectly, perfectly by society's standards, but I still enjoy singing. I don't sing necessarily for a crowd. I don't even sing necessarily for anyone else, small group, large group or anything, but there are times when I really enjoy the experience of singing. Even though it's not like, I think that I'm going to win any awards for it.
That was not even planned. I definitely was not planning to talk about singing today, but it just came out. And so I'm saying let's roll with it because it is going to go along with today's topic, which is starting imperfectly, which is very much a continuation from last week about having a creative goal for 2021, or whenever you're listening to this, before we get into the main topic of this conversation, I wanted to start with a segment called a mindful moment.
So as you know, if you've been around here for a minute, I love mindfulness and creativity. I love the combination of both. I love each of them on their own and any time I can find a practice that is going to help me be more mindful in my life. I just love it because it helps me to bring more meaning and joy to my everyday.
So recently, my friend, Rachel, from the three and 30 podcast, which is an incredible podcast for moms, by the way, she always shares three takeaways in 30 minutes on different topics for moms. And it's so impactful and awesome. I just love her. She has recently come out with a new journal. She doesn't even know I'm going to talk about this, but she has recently come out with a new journal called the flecks of gold journal where you try to look for just those flecks of gold within your day. You are not expecting your entire day to be one huge golden nugget. You realize that looking for flecks of gold in your motherhood or, in your life at all, whether or not you have children or have children at home that this concept can apply to all of us, that we can find those flecks of gold.
And that those add up it's just as valuable to have a whole pouch of flecks of gold, as it is to have one big nugget of gold that comes from a story about a miner that she shares in the journal. And having the journal has just helped me, especially in my motherhood, but you could apply this to anything.
To start looking for those flecks of gold. And so I've just been noticing those tiny ordinary moments with my kids. It's not some huge accomplishment, although it could be it's the tiny moments, the little simple things that I pay more attention to, that I just kind of treasure more. I take that moment to think about it and to think this is my fleck of gold today. This is that moment today that I am going to treasure and keep. 
Now of course, I'm also journaling those things because I want to remember them. And it also helps the practice of writing helps to kind of solidify those things and to make it a practice. And you know how I feel about putting pen to paper. I think it's super. Impactful. And I just have found that it's been such a great practice for me. 
So I wanted to share about what my fleck of gold was the other day. My oldest daughter has been learning how to climb trees, which is so fun. And she's been really into it. There are some pecan trees in our neighborhood that she's been climbing to pick pecans, and she's been climbing the tree in front of our house, and I found her with a bucket that she had put a rope on to create a little pulley system with this bucket so that she could fill it with books and snacks and whatever she wanted to have up in the tree. So she climbs the tree and she has her bucket and she goes up there and she reads. For hours. She has found a comfortable little nook up there and she loves it.
I is seriously something out of like Anne of Green Gables. She is just so sweet and loves the reading in the tree. And I will be wondering, where is she? And then I'm like, oh yeah, she's she must be up in the tree. And so if I go out and tell her that it's time for dinner or a time to go somewhere or time to come in, I see the little bucket getting filled up and coming back down and her coming, dropping down out of the tree.
And it's just one of those moments that's so precious. And when we take the time to be mindful and to notice those little moments. It is so special because it helps us then to recognize those moments more in the future. And instead of being too busy to notice or getting too frustrated with the next thing on our plate, we can take that time to really soak in that fleck of gold moment and enjoy it. So I just wanted to share that it's a great practice you can do with, of course, one of Rachel's journals over at three and 30, but also just in whatever notebook you've got or a piece of paper or in your mind and heart, if you don't have a chance to write it down, of course you could do it in your phone too.
I highly recommend the pen and paper because again, you know me, but it's a great practice. Even if you're just doing the one thing, sometimes I think we can get overwhelmed with a gratitude journal and think that we need to write down 500 things that we're grateful for it every day. But what if it were just one, what if it were just one thing a day, that's a special moment that we write down so that we can remember it. And so that we can be more likely to notice and treasure those moments in the future. 
So that's been something special for me recently, and that is my mindful moment. 
All right. Let's get into the episode. This is all about starting imperfectly. Now I'm going to relate this largely to creative hobbies, because that's a lot of what we do here, but this can also really apply to anything that you are wanting to start in your life, any habit that you want to adopt. I'm just going to talk about getting started and what are the challenges, the barriers, what keeps us back, what holds us up and kind of messes with our minds. 
So I think that whenever we're starting in a hobby, we kind of have some phases and the first phase is kind of this curiosity. Thinking about whether or not this might be a good hobby for us, we might evaluate, is this something similar to something I've done before? Is this something that I have the time for? Is this something that I have the resources for? Is this going to be incredibly expensive? Is this going to be something that I might enjoy? Do other people I know like doing it? 
We kind of have this curiosity phase in this kind of analysis where we're trying to decide if it's worth taking it a step further to actually trying, we kind of go through that first phase, which is the curiosity and analysis. And then the next phase, once we decided that we are going to try, it is a phase of gathering supplies and doing some research.
So we do some research to figure out what is it that we need to get started? What do we want to do? And do we need to make a trip to the craft store? Do we need to order something online? And we go through that phase then phase number three: the supplies arrive either you've gone to the store or you have ordered your supplies in the mail.
If you have gotten a lettering kit, it's probably a bundle of your workbook and the pens and your tracing paper or whatever it is that you've ordered. And now you've got it. It's at your house. And so phase three is you've got your supplies and it's time to start. 
And I cannot tell you how many people I talk to that tell me, I bought the book whenever last summer or a month ago, or I got it for Christmas and I just haven't started it yet. I'm just kind of nervous to start. And if this is you, I want you to ask yourself why. Why are you nervous to start? And some of you might say you haven't started just because you haven't figured out a good time or you just haven't gotten to it.
But others will say, I just, I don't know. I'm just kinda nervous to start. I'm nervous to just get out the pen and put the pen to paper and, and give it a try. And so I think it's very valuable to analyze why it is that we're afraid of starting. And what do we really think, could go wrong? 
Now, the sounds kind of silly when I actually break it down like this, because I'm asking you what it is that we are so afraid of when trying out a new hobby, that's keeping us from using the supplies that we've already bought.
We had the curiosity, we did the research, we gathered the supplies, and now it's time to start. Now. It's time to try it. And what is it that we're afraid of? People will tell me things like I'm afraid I'm not going to be good at it. I'm afraid it's going to be difficult. I'm afraid that it's not going to look the way I want it to.
And this is where I'm going to remind you to remember why you are doing this. Why are we coming up with a new hobby to try. While I think it's amazing to have hobbies that we can showcase and impress people with, that's not really the reason. At least that's not the reason why I do it or why I want you to do it.
It's not so that we can make everyone think that we're amazing and look how great we are and look how we just caught on right away. Let me tell you if you were already perfect at lettering, you wouldn't need any help. You wouldn't need any lessons. You wouldn't need any supplies. Most people are not in that situation. Most people need some instruction. 
I tried to figure out lettering for so long because I loved handwriting, but it wasn't the same. The letters didn't connect the same. They didn't flow the way that I thought that they were going to just naturally the brush pen didn't work straight from my hand. I thought it was just going to know how to make thick and thin strokes without me doing anything special.
And let me tell ya, I needed to learn. I needed to figure out how to do this. It didn't just happen naturally. And that's the case for most people with most hobbies and with most things in life, we don't naturally just know how to do everything. And we miss the fun of the process when we expect it to be perfect right away.
So really pay attention to the reason why you're afraid to start something and then remind yourself of your why and remind yourself that even though you have this kind of gut reaction that you want it to look good, and you don't want to be bad at it, remind yourself that that isn't why you're doing it.
So we want to really pay attention to what our brain is doing. Now, remember that the brain is there to create thoughts. And this happens whether we are directing the thoughts or not, whether we are driving the car intentionally or putting it on autopilot. The brain is going to spit thoughts out. And if we are doing this on autopilot, the brain is going to think thoughts that the brain believes will keep us safe.
And so if the brain thinks that something is dangerous or we might not be good at it, or that we might expend too much energy doing something, it's going to say. And, and let's not do that. This is probably not a good idea. It's probably going to be a waste of time and a waste of energy, and we're going to feel bad about ourselves. So let's just save ourselves the trouble and just not even go there. 
We have to know that the brain on default will create thoughts like that. Our brain on default also likes to believe in all or nothing thinking. It likes to believe that if we start, then we need to start perfectly. And we need to continue perfectly or else it has been a failure.
For example, if you have a new year's resolution or a goal to say, move your body every day, because it feels good to move your body and you like the way that it affects your health and your mental health. I know that for me, when I go for a walk, walking is my exercise of choice, I feel better than when I don't.
And so if I wanted to say, make a goal for moving my body every day, and then one day I don't do it. Or I don't do it for 30 minutes. Like I've made the goal to do, or I don't have 30 minutes to do it. And then I say, I don't really have time to do it. And then I don't end up doing it. And then I'm like, see, I knew that this would happen. I already can't stick with this. I never stick at anything. I'm no good at this. 
And guess what? Those are all just thoughts that the brain is thinking on default. Those are not thoughts that I'm choosing on purpose to think, because those thoughts are not helpful. Those thoughts make me feel bad about myself.
They make me feel like there's no point in trying, because if I don't do it perfectly right away and keep up with it perfectly, then I might as well not do it because my brain likes to think that it's all or nothing. So this is where I have to get into the driver's seat. Take the car or the brain as it were off of autopilot and tell the car where I want it to go myself and think thoughts on purpose that I know will help me to get where I want to go, because I've decided that I don't care if I'm perfect at this new hobby right away. I don't care if I am perfect at my goals right away. I want the experience of trying something new. I want the benefits of the process. I talked about this time and time again. Creativity is healing. Creativity is mindful. It can bring so many benefits to us mentally and emotionally.
It can bring so much peace to us with everything that's going on in our lives and in the world right now, we need something like that for ourselves. And we are only sabotaging the whole process if we tell ourselves that we shouldn't do it because it doesn't look exactly the way we thought it would right away.
So we need to pay attention to the thoughts that are happening on autopilot. All those thoughts about how, oh my gosh, this doesn't look right. Oh my gosh, this is shaky. I'm not good at this. What if we believed that we were going to be terrible at first that we were going to start imperfectly. Which means that we can get that pen out and the workbook or the paper, and that we can start trying to do hand lettering and know that it's going to be imperfect.
We are going to start imperfectly like when I started trying embroidery and I got out that first piece of fabric and I tried doing some of the basic stitches of embroidery and I told myself, this is going to look terrible. The stitches are going to be uneven. They're going to be crooked and they are going to look probably like a hot mess.
I knew that I wanted to have the experience of doing the embroidery no matter what that finished product looked like. I knew that I was not going to be framing that first messy row of stitches that I tried and believe me, it was really messy. There were threads coming out the front and the back and I was definitely super beginner and such a good example for me to remember what it's like to be a beginner at something. 
And once again, remember for all of you who are starting lettering for the first time, what it's like that it is going to be shaky. Your strokes are going to be shaky. You're not going to have all of the connections just right.
You're going to mess up. You're not going to love the way that it looks exactly at the beginning, and that's totally fine. And maybe you will love the way that it looks right away. And that's great too, but plan for it to be imperfect, planned to start imperfectly. So when you sit down the first time to try something new, expect that the first go is going to be totally imperfect plan on it so that your brain won't freak out so much. 
Intentionally get into that driver's seat and drive your thoughts ahead of time with thoughts like, I am not going to be perfect at this right away. And it's okay. 
The first time that I start, it's going to be super imperfect. It's not supposed to look like an expert right away. And make sure that you're just being aware of what's coming up for you. Because even when you try to plant those very positive and intentional thoughts in there, the other thoughts, the autopilot thoughts, they're still going to come up. Those thoughts of, see, you're not good at this. That's still going to come up and just being aware of it and saying, oh, yep. That's an autopilot thought. That's something that's not going to serve me because guess what? I don't actually care if I'm good at this. 
Let's go back to the singing analogy that I wasn't even aware of or had never thought of until I was actually recording this podcast.
 I love singing, even though I am never going to be on a Broadway stage. I'm never going to be on any stage, honestly, singing, although, you know what. You never know, I guess never say never. My daughter on the other hand is really loves singing and probably will be on a stage singing. Both of my daughters actually love it.
So anyway, I don't know where they got it from because it wasn't me or my husband, but I love it. I think it's super great, but I enjoy the process of singing because it's fun and it feels good. And I don't really care if I'm good at it or not. 
Do you ever have dance parties with your family or by yourself? I love to dance and just have fun. I know that I do not look amazing. I know that I probably look absolutely ridiculous and often I am looking ridiculous on purpose, especially if I'm dancing around my kids, because I know that it makes them laugh and probably really embarrasses them. But I just love doing it.
I am not doing it because I'm good at it. I am going to have this be one of my biggest mantras. You can do things you're not good at. You can enjoy things that you're not good at. It's okay to spend time doing things that you enjoy, even if you're not good at them. If I can spend time dancing and singing, even though I am never going to have any type of accolades for either of those things, I can do any hobby in the world and I can be bad at it, and I can learn how to do it and enjoy the process.
So think about why you want to start, how you want to give yourself that push to just get out the supplies and get going. Expect that first time to be imperfect. You're going to start imperfectly, and then you're going to have some intentional thoughts that you want to have handy for your brain so that you can think them ahead of time before your brain has too much time to run wild with all of the autopilot thoughts that are not necessarily going to be super helpful.
You want to have those intentional thoughts ready. The thoughts, like I'm not doing this to be perfect at it. I'm not doing this to impress anyone. I am not doing this only if I'm good at it, I can still enjoy the process. 
So the other thing that I want to address is once you've gotten started and you tell yourself I'd like to do five minutes of mindful creativity a day.
That's just an example. The very beginning of this podcast, I talked about joining the movement. And I really wanted people to commit to creating, that's the name of the podcast, committed to create, commit to creating five minutes a day, and it could be doodling with a pencil on paper. It could be playing with Play-Doh. It could be making a meal, anything that you want to do with your hands that's creative. 
Of course, there are lots of ways to create not with your hands, but I think that there's something powerful to actually using our hands, to create and being mindful and present in the moment. Really absorbing the moment with your five senses.
And I have challenged people to do that. Now what our brain wants to do is say, oh my gosh, you haven't kept up with that. Or you only did it for one minute or you haven't picked up your lettering supplies in two months, or you got those paintbrushes a year ago and you still haven't picked them up. 
Let me tell you guys something. I am guilty of some of this as well. And I need to take some of my own medicine on this. And let me tell you a little story. My husband knows that it has been a secret desire of mine to really learn how to paint with acrylic or oils. I do love and enjoy watercolor. I've done a fair amount of that. I love lettering as you know, and doodling, but I haven't ever really gotten into painting canvases with acrylic or oils.
And I have always wanted to do it. And so my husband got me these beautiful canvases and this easel and these brushes and paints and guess who has never opened them. That's right. Me, because I have suffered from the same thing as you. We are all human. We are all in this together and they have been sitting here for years.
This is embarrassing. It has been years that they've been sitting in my room that I have not used them because I have thought I need to have the right course from the right teacher. I want to learn how to do it right. I want to just mess around and waste these canvases and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh my gosh, what am I waiting for?
I want the experience of painting. I want to have the process of turning my mind off and getting a paint brush and getting some colors and painting. What am I waiting for, you guys? Seriously, just thought about this. As I'm sitting here recording this podcast. So let's do it. 
What supplies do you have? What do you have sitting in a bag sitting on a shelf, sitting in a closet? What is it that you've got that you haven't opened yet, that you haven't cracked into, that you haven't started? We're going to just start, we're going to start imperfectly and we're not going to know what we're doing and it's going to be okay because we're going to enjoy the process and we're doing it for mindful creativity.
I hope that you feel like we are really just sitting down having a conversation because that's really what's happening. I am chatting with you and I am just coming up with stuff and remembering things and telling you stories about the canvases that I have sitting in my room that I've been subconsciously or consciously too afraid to break into because I'm afraid this is not going to be right.
Oh my gosh. You're going to be sitting there being like. I think Lisa, you need to take some of your own medicine. I'm telling you it's easy for me to come on here and to encourage you about lettering because I've done it and I enjoy it and I continue to do it, but we all are human and we all fall prey to this.
Now I did just get started with embroidery and I was able to kind of get past that first start. I think that there is something kind of intimidating about just that first start, which is why I named this podcast starting imperfectly, because I do think that there's something really great about just starting and having it be imperfect so that you're just kind of past that hurdle.
There's something that's really liberating about getting past that start. And so then you can keep going and again, your brain is going to want to be mean to you about not sticking with it or taking too long of a break, or you might hear this podcast and say, oh, I did that. I was too hard on myself and I, and I shouldn't have been.
And it's like, okay, that's totally fine. We also, in this little club of ours is mindful creativity club, we also have compassion for ourselves because there's no point in having a bunch of rules that we beat ourselves up about. We can say it's totally fine. I felt that way. And now I'm reminding myself that it's okay.
If it's not perfect. It's okay. Hey, if I get it wrong, it's okay. If one of my canvases gets used and doesn't look like a masterpiece, because let's be honest, it's not going to, and that's totally fine because like I said, I want to enjoy the process of painting. I do not want to be so focused on the final product that I miss the process.
Okay. So here we are. You and me friends, together. We have a lot in common. We both have things that we have wanted to start and haven't because we've been a little scared. I am not on this podcast to ever come across as having it all together or knowing everything. I hope you all know that, but I am here committed to create.
And I do know that that includes creating with our mindset and with our hands. So we're going to do this together, come over to Instagram. Will you and tell me what it is that you're going to start. And for a lot of you, I know it's going to be lettering. I know you've got the workbook. I know you've got your tracing paper and some pens ready, and you're going to do it.
You're going to start it. And I hope you post about it. And tag me, I want to cheer you on because it really is so fun and fulfilling to have a creative hobby. Now, of course, you've probably heard me talking about multiple hobbies that I'm enjoying, but that doesn't mean that I don't still want to break into those paints and those canvases, and I will definitely be posting about it on Instagram now, because you guys are going to keep me accountable.
If you don't already follow me over there, it's at hand lettered design and I'm going to be sharing a little bit more about the things that I'm trying. I'm also continuing to try the embroidery. It's super fun. I need it to share some of the supplies that I'm using and stuff I'm loving it. So. I finished my first hoop and I'm going to be starting on my next one. And I'm hoping to do some lettering and stuff on there too. So just having fun with it. 
Now, if you have already started lettering and you want to take it to the next level, We've got the guide to flourishing for you, which comes with a video and a pen. Oh my gosh. The guide to flourishing is so incredible.
It teaches you not only how to flourish every single letter of the alphabet, but also how to lay out your quotes and how to figure out where the flourishes go. So if you've already started lettering. That is your next step, if you really want to take that to the next level, with the guide to flourishing. If you're just starting out, get the creative lettering journal and get the tracing paper with it.
And the pens you guys, when you have the tracing paper, you don't even have to worry about quote unquote, messing up your book, which I don't want you to be worried about anyway, but if you put tracing paper on top of the pages, then. You're not even touching the book, you don't even have to worry about that.
You can practice as many times as you want with that amazing tracing paper really is the best tracing paper in the world. It's so smooth. It's like vellum. You could seriously frame it so pretty. So anyway. If you want lettering to be one of your creative outlets for this year, I want to encourage you to do that head over to hand lettered design.com and get any of the supplies that you need.
You can always DMS and ask us for tips on what to start with. And I am just, I want you to commit to create, I want you to enjoy it. I want you to do it for you, and I want you to release all the pressure and stress that it needs to be perfect. And plant in those intentional thoughts about how you can do things for fun.
You can do things, even if you're not good at them, you can enjoy the process. And I am right here with you. 
All right my friends, thank you for being here, for leaving reviews on the podcast. I read every single one. They mean so much to me and I loved chatting with you. So thanks for being here. And I will talk to you again next week.
Links:
3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms
Flecks of Gold Journal
The Guide to Flourishing
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I hope that my podcast has left you feeling inspired and excited to create the life that you want. If you’ve enjoyed listening to this podcast, I’d love for you to subscribe so you can continue to hear more. Want to get to know me better? Connect with me on my website or on Instagram to keep up with everything that is going on with me and my business.
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Jennifer L. IN LOVE!! What a perfect idea! I am a plant mama too, like Lisa. I also manage a great deal of anxiety. I got into lettering a couple years ago as a creative outlet and discovered a multitude of treasures in the lettering community! This book that Lisa created with her daughter is just perfection! It's all the feels for me! Thank you both!!!
Cinthanie C. EXCELLENT BOOK! I really enjoy taking a minute each day to slow down and apply my hand to something that is not only emotionally supportive but relaxing and fun to do!! The mantras for everyday are very helpful for me. Thank you for your work and bringing such a high quality product into my life!
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