The Power of Being "Good Enough"

Because your Creative Health thrives on momentum, not perfection.

Hey there,

Katina here, Daydreamers’ Co-founder and Chief Science Officer. I often find that New Years isn’t when most of us start our new habits; it’s once we’re out of the depths of winter. And, reconnecting with our Creative Health is no different - in fact, it’s exactly what helps us come alive again.

As a Creative Health Scientist, the first question people often ask me is: I really want to get my creative spark back, but where do I start? How do I actually begin?

The conventional advice usually goes something like this: Let all your bad ideas out first. Write the messy draft, they say. Brainstorm freely. Put the mediocre ideas out there and see what sticks.

The thing is, these advice-givers have probably never met me. Or I imagine - many of you.

On the surface, it sounds free and easy. Approachable, even. But in practice? It’s pretty excruciating.

I mean, be honest (truly, write it in the comments): How many times have you actually. confidently, just let your bad ideas just…flow?

Instead, if you’re like me, the moment that you sit down to create anything - whether it’s an email to your boss or even a weeknight dinner - a flood of resistance kicks in. Your brain might sound like this:

• I need to do more research before I get started

• Let me just map out a clearer vision first (100 times over)

• Or the most common (😅): I can’t let anyone see this until it’s my absolute best work

Here’s the problem: These forms of procrastination don’t only stall our creative momentum. When we hesitate, overanalyze, or demand perfection from ourselves, we put our nervous system in a state of chronic stress.

As a “high achiever” myself, I can personally relate - for as long as I could remember, this fear of creating anything “bad” has been my biggest creative block.

When we first started Daydreamers, I felt like I had to have all the answers before we could launch anything. When I write content - even this newsletter - I still catch myself procrastinating, convinced that if I just wait long enough or do more preparing, the perfect path will suddenly appear.

And, I know from the thousands of conversations I’ve had with our members at Daydreamers, I’m not alone. Am I reading your mind, too?

That’s because many of us have spent an entire lifetime chasing better. In a culture obsessed with excellence (and comparison 😵‍💫), we continuously optimize for better ideas. A better first draft. Even a better version of ourselves. And, we’ve been conditioned to believe that if we can just figure out that better version first, then we’ll finally be ready to begin.

But here’s the paradox: That fear of failure is exactly what prevents us from getting started in the first place.

Whether it’s a first messy draft, a Master’s thesis, or even just an email to your boss, we get stuck in a loop of hesitation and self-doubt.

So that conventional advice? It works, but it’s missing an important step - particularly for those of us who have the striving “gene.” The secret to kicking off our Creative Health is that we have to start warming up our creative brain long before setting pen to paper.

We have to literally give our brain permission to be “good enough” before we get started - because it doesn’t happen automatically.

That’s what makes Creative Health different from creative output. It’s not about having a single brilliant idea. It’s about building a habit of showing up, experimenting, and allowing the creative process to unfold, without needing to prove ourselves first.

Here’s how we begin.

Your Creative Brain Needs Permission To Be Wrong

The antidote to creative procrastination - and that flood of resistance that hits when you try to start a “messy” first draft - lies in something called divergent thinking.

Scientists define divergent thinking as the ability to come up with as many ideas as possible, regardless of how “good” they are. It’s what allows us to explore possibilities freely, without self-censorship or immediate judgment.

Think of it like brainstorming ideas in a meeting or trying to decide what to have for dinner. This expansive, idea-generating mode is the foundation of both personal breakthroughs and large-scale innovation.

But here’s the catch: We need to turn it on, first.

If you’ve ever sat down to be creative and felt completely stuck, that’s because of a built-in brain function that acts like a mental filter. It’s called cognitive inhibition and essentially, it’s purpose is to sort out what seems "useful" from what seems "irrelevant" or unconventional.

People who have practiced creativity for a long time tend to have a looser filter; they let more raw ideas, connections, and patterns surface before deciding what’s valuable. But if you’re used to optimizing for the “right” answer - whether in school, work, or high-performance environments - your filter is probably too tight.

And that’s a problem for our Creative Health, because when your brain blocks creative insights before they even have a chance to form, you end up stuck, second-guessing, or overwhelmed before you get to the starting line.

This doesn’t just kill creativity - it actually increases stress, too. Research from Harvard Medical School shows that trying to generate and filter ideas at the same time leads to cognitive overload, which raises cortisol levels. In other words, overthinking doesn’t just feel exhausting - it quite literally triggers a stress response that makes the creative process even harder.

The good news? We can train our brains to loosen this filter and make creativity feel easier (and more enjoyable) over time.

The trick is to warm up your creative brain with small, consistent practice.

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The “Good Enough” Creative Process

The most prolific creators in history weren’t geniuses who only had one great idea after another. They simply were okay with creating things that were good enough all the time.

Get this:

• Einstein had over 248 publications. Only a handful changed the world.

• Picasso produced 50,000+ artworks. Most people can name three.

• Maya Angelou published dozens of books, essays, and poems. A few became classics.

In a landmark study, psychologist Dean Simonton found that highly creative people don’t necessarily have a higher percentage of great ideas - they just produce more ideas overall, which increases their odds of what we see as brilliance.

How freeing is that? Even for the greats, creativity isn’t about being perfect. It’s about showing up as often as we can and feeling okay with being good enough.

Most importantly, the creative people we look up to had rituals that helped them begin their Creative Health practice each day - because starting cold is the hardest part.

Scientifically, we know that doing small, low-stakes creative “warm-ups” (as we call them at Daydreamers) activate our divergent thinking network, making it easier to take risks and experiment freely.

In one particular study, participants who did a five-minute creative warm-up before brainstorming generated significantly more ideas - both in quantity and quality - compared to those who started without one.

Why? Because a warm-up signals to your brain that it’s safe to explore.

And that’s what we all need: More permission to begin again and again - without judgment, without hesitation, and without the weight of proving ourselves first.

Quite honestly, this is the exact reason that we created Daydreamers. Most of us weren’t handed paintbrushes every day as kids. Instead, we spent years optimizing for the right answer. We crave creativity but feel blocked by overthinking.

So, Daydreamers exists to help you loosen that cognitive filter, reconnect with your imagination, and build creativity into a habit. And, through our own science-backed creative exercises - really, warm-ups for your creative brain - we make creativity something you practice, not something you wait for.

Because when you train yourself to start again and again, even in the smallest ways, you’ll never get stuck at that empty, messy first draft.

And even more? When we allow ourselves to be “good enough,” we build resilience. We strengthen our ability to adapt. We stop waiting for a future version of ourselves to feel ready.

There’s something deeply human - and beautiful - about embracing imperfection in all forms. So, are you ready to be “good enough” more often with us? 🧠

- Katina

Daydreamers’ Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer

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Let’s Practice Creativity More Often

Creativity isn’t a one-time spark. It’s a practice. A muscle. A way of moving through the world that changes everything - from how you solve problems to how you experience joy.

When you join Daydreamers, you’re not just unlocking your own Creative Health - you’re helping us build a world where resources like this newsletter are free for everyone to access. Ready to help us make the world a more creative place?

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Creative Health Protocol 🧠

This newsletter is the what, and the Daydreamers platform is the how - your guide to turning Creative Health insights into real, tangible action. Here’s a peek.

Creative Warm Ups

• What it is: Warm ups are a simple, low-stakes way to activate divergent thinking and reduce the pressure of “getting it right.” Think of it as stretching before a workout; it gets your brain in the right state before diving into something creative or cognitively demanding. Studies have found that warming up before brainstorming increases both the quantity and quality of ideas generated and psychological safety.

• How you can experiment with it: We have a ton of science-backed, creative warm up exercises on the Daydreamers Platform - but my favorite right now is something we call a Creative Cardio Warm up. It’s like jumping jacks for your creative brain; I personally do it before a big meeting when I have to be “on” or even before writing this newsletter. Here’s a simple version you can try at home - look around your environment right now and zoom into something that stands out, like a plant or a book. Doodle, write, or imagine as many different versions of that object as you can (What if your plant was a skyscraper? What if your book had no words? What if your coffee cup could talk?). Don’t judge. Don’t filter. Just play - and see how your creativity begins to come online.

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What We’re Loving This Week 🪐

We’re all about simplicity, clarity and depth - so instead of overwhelming you with a random mix of news, here’s one standout idea, read, brand or project that’s really supporting our Creative Health this week.

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

If you’ve ever felt creatively stuck, this poem is your permission slip. A gentle nudge back into your own aliveness. It’s a favorite of ours at DD HQ 🪐

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Tell us in the comments: What’s one way you’re loosening your creative filter and allowing yourself to be “good enough” this week? 🧠✨

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We’re on a mission to reach 100,000 Creative Brains - because Creative Health isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s essential for our individual and collective well-being. If you’re loving these insights, chances are, someone in your world will too.

Forward this to a friend who could use more creativity, flow, and inspiration in their life. Let’s build a movement where creativity isn’t an afterthought - it’s the foundation for a healthier, more vibrant world.