Becoming a Creative Garbage Pro
Creativity at it’s Worst
For years I put off doing the creative things I wanted to do, such as writing, music and drawing; I always wanted to be a creative guru in the world of art, and compose a dazzling piece of “something” that people would stop to admire. My imagination was large, and my ambition even bigger. But when I attempted my creative activities, it was like a ball and chain had suddenly strapped itself to my legs. Frozen in fear of even a single brush stroke being wrong, or staring at a blank computer screen right after typing in “Chapter 1″, the earth stood still.
As soon as I picked up a brush or my fingers touched the keyboard, thoughts of doubt and failure came rushing in, a mad order of critical voices that wanted my creative ability efforts to fail. Just like swimming in a race going against the current, my Perfectionist critic inside was my only competitor, and it was a mean one. It set out to defeat my efforts through every means necessary: attacking a would-be-artist when he is attempting to bring something good into the world.
Everybody has a creative side. It might be music or art, writing or photography. There is something about people that drives us to bring life through our art; it is the most powerful form of expression, even more than words. You can look at a magnificent sculpture or read a great haiku and you don’t have to say anything about it. It exists so that there’s no need of deep any deep explanation.
But what about the other artists of the ages? Did they go through the same thing thousands of other writers, musicians and artisans suffered, that pecking and critical voice that drives most people crazy until they learn to shut it off? I expect so, and yet, this world is flooded with so much great stuff. Why? The creative visionaries that create are willing to fail at the things that most people find unacceptable.
Willing to Create the Worst Thing Imaginable
Someone was told me that self-defeat only succeeds when you believe the lie feeding into your mind. When it came to writing [blog posts] or another creative activity, I gave up any times. I lost years because of the fear that was created by a critic living in my head. I learned to hate that voice, that nagged at every word I put down on paper; if it was a photo I was taking it would say “What are you doing? You are not a photographer!” In my writing sessions it would say “Who do you think you are, the next Hemingway?” I don’t know, but I do know this: Hemingway said the first draft was “shit” and so, my understanding is, if it was good enough for Hemingway to produce crap, it must be good enough for me. But that critical voice is powerful, and it doesn’t give in easily. That’s why you have to keep going. Here is why.
The Tipping Point
Most people that give up do it before they are halfway through. They tire out and lose momentum, unable to see the end of their goal. They view it as something unreachable and can never be achieved. The same thing happens to writers and artist. They give up just when the stuff they are producing is about to show some potential.
History is filled with the graveyard of shattered dreams and good stuff that was never produced. Why? We are continually at war with a voice of self defeat; it is a powerful enemy, and it does not give up easily. In fact, it grows strongest the more creative you really become. That is why you can’t let it win. But how do you push on when all the odds are stacked against you? How do you find the courage to be great when you start to believe the lie that is being perpetuated over and over? Do you simply turn it off? Is it that easy? How can I be willing to accept the criticism of others if I can’t accept my own?
Defeating the “Defeatist Mindset”
For every great masterpiece created, there are ten prototypes that the world never sees. It is the artists way of practicing his or her craft. You must allow yourself to be a bad artist. Don’t control the creative side of your brain; let it do its thing. Let it guide you. Give it space to grow. For example, if you are taking a photo and you are thinking about sending it in to National Geographic for publication, don’t just wait of that on perfect shot before snapping a pic. Take hundreds of photos of the same things from different angles. just let go and do your thing. Let the artist live. Refuse to be defeated by “getting it right”.
Remember, the internal critic is yours; you created it and probably feed into it everyday at an unconscious level. It needs your fear to survive. When you buy into its reasoning, that old enemy of self-doubt sinks in deeper. When you doubt yourself, your defence is to procrastinate. For every great piece of work that the world admires, there is a mountain of trials and failures behind it. Most people quit or suffer frustration because they have forgotten how to fail. Our society goes against that. In school we have tests and examinations to test our knowledge; if you can pass you will have a great future. If you flunk, you won’t.
This fear of failure becomes ingrained into the system. No matter what, you accept your failure right from the start as an event to be avoided. But failure is not an event, it is a point of view. Instead of sitting down to produce something great, settle for something mediocre. There are no tests or passing grades. Nobody has to even see your work. You can just do it for you, and that’s it
Cast Aside Lofty Dreams of Instant Greatness
Am I suggesting that you give up on being great? No. Well, yes, for now. Greatness comes with hard work, not producing a masterpiece in the morning and reaping in big bucks by nightfall. I know what you might be thinking: “But Mozart never created any drafts; he did everything from scratch. There were no rewrites.” Good for him; he was a genius. I am just an ordinary guy trying to write a book that I care about deeply. If it goes onto best seller status, I’ll celebrate. My point is, fame and fortune are poor excuses to be creative. They can motivate you, but it’s a passion thing. And when passion runs out, it becomes a hard work thing. creativity isn’t something you do when you are feeling inspired.
It is a habit that demands you show up and put in the work. You have to be there at a certain time of day everyday in order to produce something. And most of what you produce will never see the light of day. It doesn’t have to. The final product, whether it is a book, a song, painting, or designing a website will be the final result of a string of bad prototypes. So be creative, enjoy failing at what you love to do, and learn greatly from the process.
The post Becoming a Creative Garbage Pro appeared first on OBSTACLE CRUSHERS.
