Written by Qianhui 2022 Cohort
In my second year of university, I was required to draw sketches for a kindergarten. There was more than enough time, and I had a whole week to complete it. I was ambitious about this design and wanted to create a great one that would impress my teachers. I searched hundreds of cases online. However, when something flashed into my mind, I gave it up the next second and threw my sketch away immediately because it was not perfect enough. I overthought, for example, “this is not the style I want,” ” it is outdated, and nobody will like it,” and” the colour system will be harmful to children’s mental health.” I worried too much, so I could barely start. What happened next? Yes, I didn’t submit the sketch because I needed more time. Because I had no choice as I wanted a perfect one. Because I had mental health imbalances that prevented me from even starting! And, of course, I got an awful grade. That is the end of the story.
But that’s not how things were supposed to be. I spent much time preparing but hesitated to start. I wanted the first draft to be highly finished, but actually, it was impossible. Worse, the “perfect first draft” put much psychological pressure on me and prevented me from starting the design. My professor always told me: to have something first. Now I know the meaning. The most challenging part is always ” from 0 to 1″. So, we need to lower the difficulty of it, turning it ” from 0 to 0.1″. Just create the first version of the sketch, no matter how lame or terrible it might look. Draw it, read it and find its problem, then correct it and modify it based on this sketch. As we lower the barrier to doing something, it will be easier to start and continue. After thousands of adjustments, our design will be from 0.1 to 0.3, 0.5, even 0.9, and eventually, it will be so close to perfect work. No one can create perfect artwork from the get-go, not even a genius. The truth is, when you complete “from 0 to 0.1”, you’re already ahead of many people. Because most people still need to make that first step.