The Creativity Book

Creativity and anxiety.

You might have noticed they seem to go together. :)

Steven Pressfield puts it this way in his classic, The War of Art (see Notes): “The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear, then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there’s no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.

What Henry Fonda does, after puking into the toilet in his dressing room, is to clean up and march out onstage. He’s still terrified but he forces himself forward in spite of his terror. He knows that once he gets out into the action, his fear will recede and he’ll be okay.”

Hah. That puts it in perspective, eh?

The Big Idea here is to realize that we’re going to need to embrace the fact that, as Maisel says, anxiety and creativity travel the same road together.

Then we want to get curious about how it all comes together. Study it. Work with it.

(In addition to this book, if you struggle with anxiety around your creativity I HIGHLY recommend The War of Art, The Now Habit and The Pursuit of Perfect. Those are *great* resources as we look to master the dynamics of creativity. We have Notes on all of ‘em!)

Chunking.

It’s a Huge Idea.

ESPECIALLY when/if we’re stressed out about something big.

We often talk about the dynamic tension between our ideal life/creative project/etc. and our current reality and the fact that the way to healthfully manage that tension is to take the next baby step.

Baby step after baby step after baby step. It’s an incredibly powerful way to combat overwhelm.

In his great book about overcoming procrastination called The Now Habit, Neil Fiore tells us to “Replace ‘This project is so big and important” with ‘I can take one small step.’”

Any time you feel stressed out, see if you can identify one TINY little step you can take.

If it’s writing a novel, open a Word doc and save it as “Draft of My Novel.” If it’s creating a painting, go buy the paint or prepare your canvas. If it’s writing a PhilosophersNote (ahem), just type out one quote. (Seriously: If I’m stressed about how many more Notes I have to write in Volume II and whether I *really* want to do it, blah blah, I’ll often just type out a great Big Idea that I know I’ll use in a Note. The strangest thing often happens: 5 to 10 to 15 minutes later, I can go from being pretty uninspired to all about it and the Note will come together nicely and I’ll feel all inspired. :)

So, two things here:

First, chunk your projects into little bits. Don’t focus on the WHOLE project, see the chunks.

And, if you’re feeling totally stuck, see if you can take one small step! :)

How’s that for a rockin’ attitude toward mistakes?!

Reminds me of Joseph Campbell’s mojo from A Joseph Campbell Companion (see Notes) where he reminds us: “You can’t make an omelet without breaking the eggs.”

And, of course, sometimes those omelettes are gonna have shells in ‘em, eh?

While we’re in the kitchen, how about some bagels to go with that omelet? Can’t pass up a good opportunity to share this gem from Michael Beckwith (see Notes on Spiritual Liberation): “A conscious realization of our innate oneness with the Ineffable does not mean that we will never make a mistake again. Even enlightened beings burn their bagels once in a while. It’s important to maintain a sense of humor because this is how you will stop being afraid of making a mistake. You’ll make some, but so what? That’s why they’re called mis-takes. Humor relaxes the uptight ego. You get a new cue from your inner Self and simply say, ‘I missed my cue, so let’s do a second take.’ Your willingness to take the risk of making a mistake is actually an expression of courage and a willingness to grow from them. Mistakes are about getting the blessing in the lesson and the lesson in the blessing.”

Funny how it’s always WAY easier to read those wise quotes and say, “YAH!” then make a mistake and say, “Why am I such an idiot?!?”

Hah.

Maybe I’m the only one who does that. But I don’t think so. :)

Here’s how Paulo Coelho put it in a Tweet I happened to read a few minutes ago: “When you feel really lost and upset, laugh at yourself.”

Are you uptight about some mistakes you feel you’ve made lately? Sweet. Embrace it. Laugh at it. And get back to work. :)

P.S. Whatever mistake you just made isn’t going to be your last one. So get ready to laugh at the next one, too.

There ya go. (Again.)

Anxiety, fear, bewilderment.

They all come along for the creative ride.

And, often, so does depression.

Per Maisel: “Who do we know who has been depressed? Emily Dickinson. Charles Dickens. William Faulkner. William Blake. Leo Tolstoy. Mark Twain. Virginia Woolf. Berlioz, Beethoven, Handle, Mahler, Rossini and Tchaikovsky. Gauguin, van Gogh, Michelangelo, O’Keefe, and Pollock. Even people you have never heard of in your life. One out of every one artist. Maybe you. Certainly me.”

“One out of every one artist.” Hah.

And I will add: Certainly me, too!

If you feel the funk more often than you’d like, it’s really important to know that we’re not the ONLY ones who’ve ever suffered. (Even though sometimes it can sure feel like everyone else has got it figured out and we’re the only rejects on the block. :)

As we embrace that, it’s also super important to create what Maisel calls a “Depression Plan.” We’ve gotta know what we’re gonna do when the gremlins threaten to take over the airwaves.

He prescribes everything from talking about your challenges (to another person, to your cat, whatever—he says it’s “liberating to speak your truth, pain and all, out loud”), making an effort to find reasons to be hopeful, challenging your negative thinking, focusing on positive changes you’ve been rocking in your life, and asking for help (“from friends, relatives, counselors, even from strangers on a telephone help line”).

I’d throw in: EXERCISE! And, cutting out the junk food, excessive caffeine, alcohol, etc.

So… What’s your plan?!

* queue singing angels *

So, what do you REALLY want to create?

Mary Oliver comes to mind here. She asks us: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Well, what is it for you?

Maisel encourages us to write a letter to ourselves outlining everything we want in our lives—the “fame, glory, brilliant works, adulation, self-satisfaction, publicity, a second home in Italy, immortality.”

How ‘bout we capture that real quick-like shall we?

Here’s what I REALLY want: ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Then he tells us to put down what we’re going to do to get all that goodness, with an important note: the part about all the work you’re gonna do should be MUCH longer than the first half. :)

Here’s what I’m going to do to rock it: ________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

You’re gonna need a couple more pages for that. :)

As Maisel advises: “Want everything. Then plan how to get it.”

Brilliant.

Pressfield puts it this way: “The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work. The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like.”

Are you all wrapped up in whether your work is going to be accepted and rewarded? Alright. Fair enough. But, while you’re waiting on that, how about you get back to work creating your next awesome project?

Love it.

Reminds me of Twyla Tharp’s wisdom from her great book The Creative Habit (see Notes) where she tells us: “Woody Allen said that eighty percent of success in show business is showing up. It’s the same thing with luck: eighty percent of it is showing up to see it.”

Whether we’re talking about getting lucky or just being productive, 80% of it is all about showing up!

Here’s how Pressfield puts it in The War of Art: “Someone once asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. “I write only when inspiration strikes,” he replied. “Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.””

It’s frightening how easy it is to get distracted “on our way to work.” The internet beckons with email, Facebook posts, and a million other distractions. But, alas, we need to develop the fortitude to go straight to our creative work!