Find Part 1 here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-inject-more-creativity-your-life-amina-islam/
To see a creative project to completion means to do a task over and over again until it’s done.
I know I’m stating the obvious, but let me tell you where the problem with many of us lies. We have all these funny kids living inside our heads that somehow deter us from doing anything about the “over and over” part and instead prod us to check one more Youtube video, scroll through Pinterest in search for recipes, or call our friends to see who’s free so we can go out.
So let me introduce these characters.
The Don’t-Know-What-To-Create-and-Why Kid
This is the kid who shows up in a t-shirt that reads, “I’m clueless” at the front and “I’m still clueless” at the back.
She knows she wants to create something of value to share with the world but has no idea what shape or form it will take.
Will it be a painting, a book, a play script, a business, a sculpture?
What medium will she use; ink, paint, cloth, lego blocks?
This kid needs a new t-shirt.
A Nike one with “Just do it” might work.
You need to give her clarity, and you can’t do that by twiddling your thumbs. You have to do something – anything – and start somewhere – anywhere.
Also, you know how they say, “When you feel like quitting, think about why you started.” That motivational quote won’t work if you have no idea why you started to begin with, and the best reason that’s applicable to many people is, “I don’t want to die with this gift still in me.”
“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.” – Les Brown
The I-Know-What-To-Create-But-Don’t-Know-Where-To-Start Kid
This kid is in love with maps and wants to know how the entire road before turning on the ignition.
Sometimes that is possible, and it is where Google and a few mentors can help. But sometimes there are no maps, and (again) you have to just start somewhere believing that things will either work out and if they don’t, you’ll learn a few lessons along the way.
The Look!-There’s-Another-Butterfly Kid
This is the kid who starts a project then gets bored or frustrated in the middle of it and starts scrambling around in search for something else to work on. This kid finds it easy to start projects but sees nothing to completion.
My advice here is to resist the urge to start a new project until you’ve completed the first one. Even if the second project seems a 1000x more interesting.
Why?
– Finishing the first project will help you build your self-discipline as you’ll be slogging through something even when you didn’t feel like it.
– Just the act of completion will shift your perception on what you believe you’re capable of doing. This will do wonders to your self-confidence.
– It allows you to ship to your intended audience and receive feedback on your work. Remember in the previous post, there was a quote that said the creative idea must have value. Which means it must be shipped to an audience who will extract that value from it.
– Simply, you get a dopamine hit from knowing you completed something and crossed it from your list.
The I-Can’t-Publish-Until-It’s-Perfect Kid
This kid just needs to be pushed at the deep end of the pool – figuratively – and they’ll learn how to swim. But one thing that creatives need to be aware is what Ira Glass calls The Gap,
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”― Ira Glass
The Voice of Fear
The voice of fear or your inner critic is the most destructive voice ever and does not even appear as a kid.
It’s actually a booming thundering voice that tells you, “Who are you to do this? There are people who are smarter and more experienced whose arena this is, not you. You should just quit and leave now before you embarrass yourself.”
The best thing I’ve read about how to deal with this voice was written in Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert: “I don’t try to kill off my fear. Instead, I make all that space for it. In fact, I cordially invite fear to come along with me everywhere I go. I even have a welcoming speech prepared for fear, which I deliver right before embarking upon any new project or big adventure. It goes something like this: ‘Dearest Fear: Creativity and I are about to go on a road trip together. I understand you’ll be joining us, because you always do. You’re allowed to have a seat, and you’re allowed to have a voice, but you are not allowed to have a vote.”
Alternatively, make them lose their power by giving them Helium gas to inhale.
Also, there’s a whole book by Steven Pressfield titled “The War of Art” addressing this.
The Procrastinating Chihuahua
This is the Chihuahua who won’t stop nagging at you to watch one more Youtube video, check what’s in the fridge, take a nap, do anything but work on your project….
As a recovering procrastinator, I have a lot to say on how to vanquish this little demon so I’m going to leave it until the next post.
A wise Jedi Master once said, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”