When Perfectionism Pays Off

file1261343245403The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark. -Michelangelo

I think perfectionism gets a bad rap. Every where you turn you are told to stop being so hard on yourself and light up, but I have begun to question that line of thinking. Ok, I get it, you shouldn’t allow yourself to get caught up in a shame spiral, but what if in an effort to avoid self-destruction we are actually selling ourselves short?

For most of my life I have struggled to perfect my singing technique. In fact, it’s probably the reason I’m sitting here writing this blog instead of standing on a beautiful stage somewhere singing La Traviata. It is also the reason I still sing. I never lost the desire to perfect my technique. I still think about how forward or back my sound is. How much vertical space to give a tone. How much pressure to use. I concentrate on loosening my jaw and eliminating tongue tension. And you know what?  [Read more…]