The perfectionism is what my best instructors, and mentors worked with me to overcome in InfoSec, bookbinding, conservation, and woodworking.
My book and paper conservation mentor said it most succinctly: “Perfect will always get in the way of good. Stop striving to be perfect, strive to be good, and your outcomes will improve.”
I feel you there Kale, and I’m 55, entering my “apprenticeship” to learn and practice woodworking. I am sponge.
Sponge is me.
I went from a great towering oak of subject matter expert in information security to a reedy, wind-whipped sapling in woodworking.
I can relate to Kale's insecurity in their own work. What helped me was going to LAP in person and seeing some of the work and seeing the imperfections. Seeing Chris and Kale make mistakes (and fixes) in their own work has given me more confidence in mine.
Thanks for a nice presentation Chris and Kale. The points you made about being a sponge and remaining flexible are critical in learning and practicing any profession. I am also impressed by the "stage presence" you demonstrated by delivering clearly stated and paced answers to some difficult questions. Those qualities will contribute to your success as a teacher of the skills and knowledge you have been accumulating. Congratulations. I look forward to seeing more of your contributions in the future.
I found your discussion of perfectionism and accepting that wood has quirks, to be particularly interesting. I’ve often found myself contemplating that all of life is a learning curve, that humans make errors even without wood helping us to do so, and that the measure of a craftsman is often more about correcting and adapting to error—efficiently, effectively, and without fuss—than it is about being perfect. And that applies to nearly anything in life.
All best to you, Kale and Chris and Katharine.. and now I’ve got to go shim that dovetail I shaved too loose. .
Congratulations Kale. Thank you for sharing your experiences all along the way. Your groundbreaking work as the first LAP apprentice has no doubt smoothed the way for the next apprentice. Clearly you appreciate that as indicated by the insights you've shared in the video. Probably, you also realize that you will be an priceless companion to the new apprentice. In addition, your shared insights have shed new light on my own long life of learning a discipline and handing it down to youngsters. Thank you for that; it has warmed my old heart. PS: How about "Journeyer?" Or "Voyager?" Just a thought ...
Congratulations. I've spent my life not knowing I'm Pinocchio, trying to be human. I don't know if you'd agree with this, but I feel better when I don't have to be wrong all the time. Being the sponge is a great, instead of being wrong maybe you're just excited to guess what the next thing is. As a joke, I've told many riding students that I expect them to "fail". Hopefully to make fun of it. Sponges don't worry about feeling wrong they just absorb. I also told my students, to listen to each teacher, they all hear, see, and say different things, the mix and match might help you find a Eureka moment.
So happy to hear Kale is staying! Good luck to your daughter
Congratulations to Kale. It’s always a treat to read their work see the craftsmanship of their work.
Welcome to Katherine. Be careful Chris they may take over and put out of work.
The perfectionism is what my best instructors, and mentors worked with me to overcome in InfoSec, bookbinding, conservation, and woodworking.
My book and paper conservation mentor said it most succinctly: “Perfect will always get in the way of good. Stop striving to be perfect, strive to be good, and your outcomes will improve.”
I feel you there Kale, and I’m 55, entering my “apprenticeship” to learn and practice woodworking. I am sponge.
Sponge is me.
I went from a great towering oak of subject matter expert in information security to a reedy, wind-whipped sapling in woodworking.
Old woodworking joke:
Q: What is the difference between a professional and an amateur woodworker?
A: The professional is better at hiding mistakes.
I can relate to Kale's insecurity in their own work. What helped me was going to LAP in person and seeing some of the work and seeing the imperfections. Seeing Chris and Kale make mistakes (and fixes) in their own work has given me more confidence in mine.
Glad to hear that we’ll get to continue learning from and alongside Kale at LAP :)
So happy Kale is staying on!
I've told people that perfection is a moment. Sadly when it comes to woodworking I do not follow my own advice.
Thanks for a nice presentation Chris and Kale. The points you made about being a sponge and remaining flexible are critical in learning and practicing any profession. I am also impressed by the "stage presence" you demonstrated by delivering clearly stated and paced answers to some difficult questions. Those qualities will contribute to your success as a teacher of the skills and knowledge you have been accumulating. Congratulations. I look forward to seeing more of your contributions in the future.
Journeyer? Journeyist?
I found your discussion of perfectionism and accepting that wood has quirks, to be particularly interesting. I’ve often found myself contemplating that all of life is a learning curve, that humans make errors even without wood helping us to do so, and that the measure of a craftsman is often more about correcting and adapting to error—efficiently, effectively, and without fuss—than it is about being perfect. And that applies to nearly anything in life.
All best to you, Kale and Chris and Katharine.. and now I’ve got to go shim that dovetail I shaved too loose. .
Regarding Kale's title, what about "Journeyer" (yeah, an actual word... 🙂)
Great video! You touched on something in the video that I think would be an excellent pair of books or maybe blog series:
1. Examples of things going wrong and how you fixed it.
2. Examples of character that a perfectionist would eradicate.
Congratulations Kale on your achievement and much more good work to come. Nice video and thoughts too. Thank you.
Cheers,
Michael
Congratulations Kale. Thank you for sharing your experiences all along the way. Your groundbreaking work as the first LAP apprentice has no doubt smoothed the way for the next apprentice. Clearly you appreciate that as indicated by the insights you've shared in the video. Probably, you also realize that you will be an priceless companion to the new apprentice. In addition, your shared insights have shed new light on my own long life of learning a discipline and handing it down to youngsters. Thank you for that; it has warmed my old heart. PS: How about "Journeyer?" Or "Voyager?" Just a thought ...
Congratulations. I've spent my life not knowing I'm Pinocchio, trying to be human. I don't know if you'd agree with this, but I feel better when I don't have to be wrong all the time. Being the sponge is a great, instead of being wrong maybe you're just excited to guess what the next thing is. As a joke, I've told many riding students that I expect them to "fail". Hopefully to make fun of it. Sponges don't worry about feeling wrong they just absorb. I also told my students, to listen to each teacher, they all hear, see, and say different things, the mix and match might help you find a Eureka moment.