TED - Is Perfectionism Just Procrastination in Disguise? | Jon Youshaei | TED
The speaker shares their struggle with perfectionism as a YouTuber, often delaying uploads due to the desire to perfect videos. They highlight how this mindset limited their output to only six videos in their first year. The turning point came from observing James Corden's success through experimentation with various formats, leading to a vast number of uploads and significant subscriber growth. The speaker also draws inspiration from historical figures like Mozart, who produced a large volume of work, and Thomas Edison, who persisted despite failures. They contrast this with the perfectionism of Claude Monet, who destroyed his own work due to perceived imperfections. By shifting their mindset from perfectionism to embracing quantity and learning from failures, the speaker increased their video output significantly, achieving substantial viewership and channel growth. They emphasize that imperfection can lead to progress and encourage creators to publish their work rather than striving for unattainable perfection.
Key Points:
- Focus on quantity over perfection to increase creative output.
- Experiment with different formats to discover successful ideas.
- Learn from historical figures like Mozart and Edison who embraced imperfection.
- Avoid destructive perfectionism as exemplified by Claude Monet.
- Publishing imperfect work can lead to progress and success.
Details:
1. 🎥 The Anxiety of Creation
- Despite being a professional, a YouTuber experiences severe anxiety before each video upload, highlighting the emotional toll of content creation.
- The anxiety stems from self-doubt and fear of public reception, which persists even after years of experience.
- This anxiety can be exacerbated by the pressure to maintain high engagement and meet audience expectations.
- The YouTuber employs strategies such as mindfulness and structured routines to manage these feelings.
- The creator's experience reflects a common issue among digital creators, emphasizing the need for mental health resources in the industry.
2. 🔄 The Perfectionist's Loop
- The process of repeatedly refining a video leads to saving multiple versions, up to 29 times, without ever achieving a 'final' product due to the constant pursuit of perfection.
- This loop can result in significant delays and potential non-completion of projects, as the creator may never feel fully satisfied with the outcome.
- The pattern of saving files as 'final final' and so on highlights the difficulty in settling on a completed version, indicating a barrier to productivity and decision-making.
3. 📉 Breaking Free from Perfectionism
- Initially, only six videos were uploaded in the first year on YouTube due to a perfectionistic focus on quality over quantity, illustrating the challenge of perfectionism in content creation.
- A critical shift occurred through reflecting on personal experiences at YouTube and Instagram, where interactions with various creators and artists fostered a new perspective on creativity.
- A pivotal influence came from a person named James, who profoundly impacted the understanding of creativity, encouraging a move away from perfectionism towards more authentic expression.
4. 💡 A Creative Shift with James Corden
- James Corden experimented with 109 different formats on his late night show and YouTube channel, showcasing a broad range of creative content.
- He uploaded 5,700 videos, achieving one of the highest subscriber counts among late night shows, indicating the success of his strategy.
- Corden's approach deviated from traditional late night formats that heavily relied on monologues and interviews, instead incorporating diverse content styles.
- Specific formats included interactive segments, musical performances, and celebrity-driven sketches, enhancing engagement and audience retention.
- This innovative strategy not only increased viewership but also positioned Corden's channel as a leader in late night digital presence.
5. 🎼 Learning from the Greats: Mozart and Edison
- James Corden's 'Carpool Karaoke' has achieved over 1 billion views, demonstrating the unpredictability of creative success despite many prior unsuccessful attempts like 'Musical Shares'.
- Success in creative endeavors often hinges on publishing frequently and embracing potential failure, rather than striving for perfection from the outset.
- Mozart composed over 600 pieces by the age of 35, vastly outpacing his contemporaries who typically produced around 150 pieces over longer lifetimes.
- Mozart's prolific output included numerous lesser-known works, illustrating that a focus on quantity can lead to occasional masterpieces and overall success.
- Edison, like Mozart, exemplified innovation through persistence, with a significant number of patents and inventions resulting from iterative experimentation.
6. 🎨 Monet's Lesson on Perfection
6.1. Thomas Edison's Resilience in Innovation
6.2. Monet's Perfectionism and Its Costs
7. 🔄 Embracing Quantity Over Perfection
- Shifting mindset from perfectionism to embracing quantity led to significant career changes.
- Increased video production from 6 to 173 videos in one year.
- Achieved over 300 million views on YouTube videos.
- Became one of the fastest-growing channels on YouTube despite many flops.
8. 🚀 The Power of Imperfect Creation
- Cringing at your past work is a sign of progress; perfectionism can often be procrastination in disguise.
- Some of the most popular videos, despite having poor coloring, lighting, and audio, received millions of views, highlighting that imperfection can still lead to success.
- Encourages creators to continue producing content despite the fear of imperfection or criticism, as the only thing worse than imperfection is a lack of existence.