How To Create A Masterpiece

My day started with an email that simply said "You need not set out to create a masterpiece, Stacy." That one little sentence was a huge wake up call, a reminder of what coaching is to me.  Permission to get messy and make mistakes without the fear of screwing up the whole vision of what things are 'supposed' to be. Do things for the joy of doing them, for the love of the process instead of the expectation of a product. 

When I was in college I was an Art Major (long back story I'll tell another time). Painting was the one thing I could do where the process wasn't about creating an outline or ensuring I had a proper word count or the sums all added up just so. I didn't have to prove anything or please anyone. I would just make my canvas and grab the color that moved me and simply paint. I would get paint everywhere. I'd use my hands and my pants (to wipe my hands on people). My brushes and the canvas felt like a living breathing thing - taking on dimension and form in ways I hadn't fully expected when I was sitting looking at the clean white surface of possibilities. When something looked wrong on the painting I grabbed more paint and went over it until I liked it.  

I didn't set out to create something perfect or amazing. I wasn't after a spot on a museum wall or even an 'A' in the class. I was there for the freedom. In other words, I found a place in myself where I was allowed to enjoy the process without judgement. 

Do you allow yourself to be totally free? To not worry about making a masterpiece? Can you do  something without judging the outcome before you begin? That's where the genius begins - in that space where you are experiencing the joy of creation rather than the pressure of perfection. The real way to create a masterpiece is to stop trying so dang hard. The beauty will come. Results created from a place of freedom and joy and love are so much more powerful than the most carefully laid out systematic plans that exist only to uphold a standard. Just take that next step, paint over your mistakes and for crying out loud - get messy.

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