Here's another finding: Making decisions contributes in several ways to uplifted mood.
I know, I know, sometimes it can be so hard to make a decision.
Good news: brain studies back up the fact that making a "good enough" decision is good for us, better in fact than agonizing over making the absolute 100% best decision.
When I discovered today that I didn't have any bookmarks to go with the cover of a book I just borrowed from the library, I decided to make one.
It was a good enough decision and it's a good enough bookmark.
Here's hoping it's a good enough book!
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| Good Enough Decision 1.5x5.5"; acrylic and pencil on black cardboard abstract 2017 not for sale [until I finish the book] |
10 comments:
Hi Dotty! So good that you're back! I absolutely love your book/bookmarkcombination. Only now I understand fully what you meant by that! Super!
Thanks, Simone—glad the picture made clear what I was saying in words. The funny thing about this particular pairing, which was intentional, i.e. I painted the bookmark specifically to use with this book, is that it's one of the books I read on my flight to Seattle. I read the book in one setting and never needed a bookmark! Happily, though, I just picked up another book from the library, and this bookmark pairs terrifically with it, even though the second book cover is very different from the first.
"Good enough" is a hard concept to accept when you're a perfectionist, like me. I'll have to think about this one. hm..
Love the bookmark, tho..I'm not sure I'd call it good enough. I'd call it well done, instead. ;)
Pure fun this one :) Bubble gum, summer sun, a dip in Aunt Gloria's crisp, clear pool. Thanks for kindling those forgotten memories Dotty :)
Good enough does carry a connotation of settling for second best in our culture, I think, a message that someone maybe 'gave up' before giving their best. But, this part of the research intrigues me since perfectionism can be problematic and negative, in my experience. Good enough, through awareness and practice, feels like sufficiency to me, and it's very upbeat and freeing.
Yes, pure fun! I felt happy and playful as I painted, loving the simple bubblegumball colors and the childlike pencil scribbles and outlines. Thanks, Sheila!
What a lovely practice. Book mark is great, love that it's the complement.almost, to the book. Wondering do you make them by size or start by cutting from an interesting start? I have never been able to work so small. Any gems from the Book?
I think my first handpainted bookmarks, starting a few years ago, came about because I wanted to use up scraps that had come into being when I'd cut a rectangular shape, for example, into a square. In that case I'd start with a bookmark-sized/shaped piece of blank paper. More recently, I've enjoyed painting a larger very loose start, in much the same way that I might paint a 9x12" sheet of collage paper, and then I cut it into bookmark sized pieces and develop each one individually. That's how this current series has evolved—I had a really nice quality piece of black cardboard from the back of a spiral binder, painted a loose start, cut it into 10 smaller pieces, and now I am working my way through, developing each one separately.
The book was a very enjoyable and entertaining read, laugh out loud funny at times but with nuggets of wisdom embedded in the humor. Read it in one sitting while flying across the country.
I love this bookmark! Is the book any good?
We have "maximizers" and "satisfiers" in our family. It is truly interesting to watch us making decisions. The first category feels a lot of stress! The second one rushes out and does it, even if it isn't perfect. And we've found positives and negatives to both. What's really cool is when we work together...we meet somewhere in the middle and the outcome is generally spectacular.
The bookmark is bringing me great pleasure. I actually painted it maybe 8 days ago, and it has 'matched'—in different ways—several different books. It is already holding my place in a third book.
Fun to hear about the maximizers and satisfiers in your family!
I enjoyed The Granny Diaries. Had me laughing more than once, and appreciating yet again how humor offers ways to look at situations without getting instantly defensive or confrontational or depressed :) As one description of the book states: She offers wise counsel on how to stay on the parents' good side (hint: don't say anything, ever).
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