Tag: creativity

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“The Work?”

Every day I get up and turn on my laptop. Soon, sometimes sooner than I think, I am looking at this blank page – wondering just what the fuck I want to write about.

Then the work begins, and I am jotting something down, cursing to myself and wondering if any of this makes sense.

I’m going to get meta here. 

As much as creating is catharsis, it is also work. If, and I really mean if, you decide to do it, prepare to work. And as you work, realize that most of it is unseen, happening in the mind. No one gets a front row seat with your dance of fear, the beads of internal sweat that transforms themselves into stomach pangs that function as a barrier to and a signal that you might be on to something.

But that isn’t “the work,” is it. “The work” is what happens next, when you find yourself surrounded by “life.”

It boils down to this question:

Are you willing to work until your shift is over, no matter what?

Hard to answer, even harder to do. Life is a great at throwing you an excuse. Can you dodge them for just today?

If you can do that, try for tomorrow, too. 

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The Siren Song of Perfection

Perfect is the enemy of good

Perfection is a siren call.

We hear the fantastic song of perfectionism as soon as we start a project.

The sweet song is good because we see a new project as a slice of our identity. The song leads us to believe that any imperfection is a mark on us. 

The song also prompts us to believe that once we hit that fabled “perfection,” any and every accolade we can think of is on the way.  We just have to make sure it’s perfect.

Perfection is a siren call.

Remember the sirens? In Greek mythology, they lead sailors to their death.

The siren call of perfection is doing the same thing to our creativity. It lulls us into the hope for perfection; each moment we strive for perfection results in the atrophying of our creativity.

Don’t let your creativity die, because like the sirens, perfectionism doesn’t exist.

Resist their call so your next project can live.

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Run With the Lions

Being forced in a lion’s den is a blessing.

Hear me out.

In Christian mythology, the most “devout” Christians in Rome would be offered as a sacrifice. They had a chance to escape the lions den if they converted. So, the trouble in which they found themselves made them consider their belief and mortality.

Nothing creates focus like stakes. They had skin in the game.

If one attempts creative work, chances are they are going to find themselves in this predicament. The “Romans” might throw you into the lions den for not converting.*

Even if it’s metaphorically the same, the stakes aren’t as high. The thing is our brain doesn’t know the difference. It still thinks we are headed to a lion’s mouth, al dente.

The thing is there are no lions other than our fears, and by not letting them eat us up, we still get the benefits of the focus on how we really feel.

*It might be worth your time to convert

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The Discipline of Meditation

It isn’t as hard as we make it.

I think one of the largest barriers to entry to meditation is the visualization people have for it.

They think of the monk in front of the river, crossing his legs, chanting some Buddhist scripture. He is devout. His concentration is keen. Nothing effects him.

That level of discipline scares people, especially me.

But what I’ve come to learn is that isn’t the only form of meditation at all.

Mediation is a nice walk in the park, sitting in a room, or even working out. Meditation comes in a lot of forms.

All it requires is enough mindfulness to concentrate on your breathing.

Once you do that, you’ll notice thoughts.

Once you begin to notice, don’t act, just watch.

Breathe. Let Go. Watch those thoughts go away, more will come. Just Breathe. Let Go.

Read that sentence slowly, and you could accidentally start meditating.

No river, nature, or chant required.

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Creating and Risk

[bctt tweet=” life as a forest, and each risk we take, especially the ones that scare us, cut down a bit to start a path”]

Creating stuff sucks.

One thing is for sure, our brains run from it when its close to home, because suddenly, risk..

Risk that is out-of-bounds by being too big (I am not scared of risking 100 million dollars, because I don’t have it, so its easy for me to say it about a company ) or too small ( likewise, I am not running away from hot or iced coffee) isn’t scary to us at all.

Neither of the risks above matter to me because they don’t matter. Capital at that level  doesn’t exist for me and coffee, hot or cold accomplishes the objective. But shipping – a whole other creäture.

Shipping is scary because it is close.

Creating something productive is scary (Producing a YouTube video about this blog). It creates a risk of being seen. That risk turns into doubt.  (People could scream how dare I) It is unpredictable, so it is a risk.

With that said, the risk is big enough to push new skills (Video Editing, Producing) and small enough to just do (Just pick up a camera and shoot). The fear comes from the idea that failure is an option. I don’t need much convincing to stop trying. Much easier to pick up the Witcher 3, cruise YouTube, and text people to not feel alone.  Failure hurts.

But you don’t grow without it.

 

The reason to go through with the pain is two-fold.

  1. Adjustment – In December, When you step out of your house in the morning with no jacket, it is obvious how cold it is.  The first day will be awful. That is how creating feels for me. Each time I go out, I still feel that cold, but it becomes a bit better. Our bodies adjust, and the skills that you learn adjust too.
  2. Vision – You can’t see if you stay in the same place. Lately I have seen life as a forest, and each risk we take, especially the ones that scare us, cut down a bit to start a path (Our authentic selves) in front of us.  Even failure cuts that forest a bit.  So what you failed – you get abetter each time.

 

 

 

 

 

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Creative Endurance

My endurance is horrible.

I don’t mean physically, although that could stand to use a lot of work, I am talking about my creative endurance. I sued to believe that your creative juices were like a well, use too much and then you would be out of it. After you rested, the well would fill back up, and you can them you can go back to the well.

What I have come to realize is, thanks to a recent Ryan Holiday post, is that creativity is more like a muscle. Each time I spend myself by writing something, playing something, performing something – I get more out of myself for next time.

Every day I write on this blog it is no more than a creative gym visit. Each post is a rep. Going to the gym is great, and it helps you create the body that you want, but if you want to maximize your activity, you have to go out and do in the world.

In order to try that, I have instructed myself to comment on every single blog post I read. Hopefully this forces me to do two things.

1) Concentrate on the articles in front of me, make a concise point, along with my point of view, to leave a lasting impression

2) Put my point to the test, defending it when rational, and learning from the experience.

Each time I do this, I feel like it would be like going to the gym to play hoop, also working on my endurance, but putting the stuff I do in the gym to the test in a (hopefully) fun way.

This is my new experiment, and I am curious to see what the results will be.

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Wardens of Our Own Prison

I truly think most of us are the wardens of our own prison – we can free ourselves but we choose not to out of the fear of the unknown. 3 hots and a cot and those warm bars.

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