Creativity and Your Negative Voices
Wil Wheaton was on a boat last week. While he was gone he left the keys to his blog with some of his friends. I’ve been getting caught up on their posts, and have found them to be as good reading (and just as inspiring) as Wil’s usual posts.
Shane Nickerson wrote about how much trouble he has just getting himself to Start.
I am constantly inspired by people who push through the darkest hour of creating new things: the self-doubt phase. It’s a gloomy time right after you have a big idea, because all of those negative brainbots activate to convince you that it won’t work/isn’t good enough/has probably been done/shouldn’t happen/is stupid. I’ve had an idea, gotten excited about it, let my mind imagine the possibilities, registered a relevant domain name, then murdered the idea in cold blood when that negativity prevails.
Anyone can think of something. Doing something is much more difficult.
Oh my goodness, how I struggle with this, the thinking vs. doing. I’ve come to realize over the past couple of months that I spend way more time thinking about projects that I want to work on than I do actually working on them. I watch so many other people doing things, making things, accomplishing things, and there are days when it makes me feel completely inadequate. I look at all the fabric in my sewing stash, and then watch koshka-the-cat sew a sacque back gown in just four days and I am consumed with jealousy over her mad sewing skillz. And yet, I know if I dedicated the amount of time to sewing that she does, I could do the same thing. The problem is, I just never get started.
***
Will Hindmarch wrote about how quickly he can make himself Stop.
I quit. I decided it was too much work, too hard to do, and too much someone else’s skill set. I wanted to be good at it, but I wasn’t good at it-I know because I told me so-so I gave up. [Emphasis mine]
We all do it to ourselves. Oh yes we do. We question our abilities, we doubt our qualifications, we question why anyone would want us. That little nagging inner voice tells us that we're inadequate. And we believe all the lies our inner critic tells us. Despite all evidence to the contrary. Even the talented and famous do it.
Wil pretty well nailed What It’s Like: “Here’s forty-thousand people who tell you how amazing you are-all right. Here’s one guy who’s like, ‘You’re a shit pile and I hate you.’ [And you feel like,] ‘Oh my God, he knows! [...] He knows the truth! Augh! I’m terrible, I hate myself! Augh! How did he see through my cleverly crafted façade? It’s the worst thing ever!’”
The trick is learning how NOT to put yourself down, how to silence or ignore your own inner critic. It’s tempting to tell yourself you can’t do it. It’s easier not to try. That way you don’t have to face the risk of failure. It takes bravery to face your fears, tell yourself that you can do it, tell yourself that if you fail, you’ve at least tried (and probably learned something in the process).
Creativity is all about taking risks. It’s about trying and failing. It’s about taking the broken pieces and making something new. It’s about seeing the world in new ways, because the old ways don’t work, or don’t feel right, or are just old and need to be shaken up.
Remember what my theme was for 2012? Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Well guess [where the creative magic happens?] where the creative magic happens?
Shane Nickerson wrote about how much trouble he has just getting himself to Start.
I am constantly inspired by people who push through the darkest hour of creating new things: the self-doubt phase. It’s a gloomy time right after you have a big idea, because all of those negative brainbots activate to convince you that it won’t work/isn’t good enough/has probably been done/shouldn’t happen/is stupid. I’ve had an idea, gotten excited about it, let my mind imagine the possibilities, registered a relevant domain name, then murdered the idea in cold blood when that negativity prevails.
Anyone can think of something. Doing something is much more difficult.
Oh my goodness, how I struggle with this, the thinking vs. doing. I’ve come to realize over the past couple of months that I spend way more time thinking about projects that I want to work on than I do actually working on them. I watch so many other people doing things, making things, accomplishing things, and there are days when it makes me feel completely inadequate. I look at all the fabric in my sewing stash, and then watch koshka-the-cat sew a sacque back gown in just four days and I am consumed with jealousy over her mad sewing skillz. And yet, I know if I dedicated the amount of time to sewing that she does, I could do the same thing. The problem is, I just never get started.
***
Will Hindmarch wrote about how quickly he can make himself Stop.
I quit. I decided it was too much work, too hard to do, and too much someone else’s skill set. I wanted to be good at it, but I wasn’t good at it-I know because I told me so-so I gave up. [Emphasis mine]
We all do it to ourselves. Oh yes we do. We question our abilities, we doubt our qualifications, we question why anyone would want us. That little nagging inner voice tells us that we're inadequate. And we believe all the lies our inner critic tells us. Despite all evidence to the contrary. Even the talented and famous do it.
Wil pretty well nailed What It’s Like: “Here’s forty-thousand people who tell you how amazing you are-all right. Here’s one guy who’s like, ‘You’re a shit pile and I hate you.’ [And you feel like,] ‘Oh my God, he knows! [...] He knows the truth! Augh! I’m terrible, I hate myself! Augh! How did he see through my cleverly crafted façade? It’s the worst thing ever!’”
The trick is learning how NOT to put yourself down, how to silence or ignore your own inner critic. It’s tempting to tell yourself you can’t do it. It’s easier not to try. That way you don’t have to face the risk of failure. It takes bravery to face your fears, tell yourself that you can do it, tell yourself that if you fail, you’ve at least tried (and probably learned something in the process).
Creativity is all about taking risks. It’s about trying and failing. It’s about taking the broken pieces and making something new. It’s about seeing the world in new ways, because the old ways don’t work, or don’t feel right, or are just old and need to be shaken up.
Remember what my theme was for 2012? Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Well guess [where the creative magic happens?] where the creative magic happens?