Fear of Missing Out-or Fear of Messing Up?

At the end of January, my husband and I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Miami for his work. (Thank You, Lord!) Yes, you wonderful, hardworking, under-appreciated mamas, you, too, will get to do this someday.  I hope that for you. 

After his work meetings, he shared a powerful principle with me that he was learning. The principle was this: Most people have more fear of messing up than the fear of missing out. In other words, FOMU is stronger than FOMO. We are all insecure, and we are all afraid of messing up. When faced with hard decisions, we freeze--because none of us wants to mess up.

This applies powerfully to our kids and to us when faced with something like creating art.

Fun story-while in Miami I got to see an unusual art museum called Wynwood Walls. It celebrates street art: large, spray painted murals as well as street sculptures. I got to have 3 minutes to spray paint a wall as part of the experience. This is what went through my head: "Yikes! 3 minutes! I don't know what I'm doing! I've never done this before! I'm sweating! What if I mess up?"

There was, however, no time to freeze. I only had 3 minutes and a spray can. The beautiful thing was, I was painting over a wall where hundreds had already painted. And I'm sure my art has been painted over many times since that moment. It was freeing to express myself in large, sweeping strokes. It was fun! It didn't matter if I messed up! (Still, I tried to do my best and paint something meaningful. I painted a heart, a flower, Jesus Loves You, and then ran out of time, frustrated.)
The approach we take to teaching art to our kids is so important. In Storygalorey, we want to present them with sound instruction in art, but in an atmosphere that communicates that we are all learning and growing, and there is always an opportunity to problem solve if we don't like our art the first time we try. Messing up in art (and life) is never wasted. It is always a learning experience if we let it be.

So here's what I learned that I want to communicate to kids and to myself to combat the fear of messing up:

1. It's okay if it's not perfect

2. No need to rush..if you need more time, you can work on it in the future

3. Have fun with color, line, and shapes...just have fun

4. All art is practice and process and sometimes you end up with a final product you love, and sometimes its about the experience or the learning-it's not wasted time if there isn't a piece on display at the end. 

5. You can change your mind or try something else

6. Try to share something beautiful for others to enjoy

Artist Henri Matisse said it well, "Creativity takes courage."

So here's to approaching art with courage and creativity, and not fearing messing up. Because who knows? That next mess-up could turn into something even better than you first planned.

P.S. Want a month's worth of art ideas to try at home with your kids without FOMU? >>Sign up for Art calendar<< and start creating with your kids!