The truth is there is not one lie…there are many lies. They come to us in whispers but really they are screaming at our souls. These lies have no desire to see us succeed and are at war with our creative process. We have to confront these voices to disqualify them or they will run and ruin our lives. A few of the voices that often come up in conversation:
- My creation is not good enough // If you are creating it, you have decided it is necessary and needed. This is just an excuse to keep us from achieving our goal.
- I am not good enough // You have been empowered to create. You are a designer original in your own right. You are a person and you are not what you do or what you create. You have spent time and sweat learning what you know. We need you to create. What you bring is different from everyone else and is necessary for us to all achieve our goals.
- I have to be first // You don’t have to be the first person to “do” something you just have to be the first person to do it your way. Creativity is the ultimate “file sharing platform”. What makes creativity unique is when we apply our touch, look, and feel to it – when we make it OURS!
- I don’t know where to start // Start with the work. Creativity takes energy and work. It’s not magical, it’s birthed in sweat and execution. What is your story? Find that and you find the beginning.
- Is it finished? // EDIT it. What we say in 8 words we should be able to say in 5 – and what we say in 5 words we should be able to say in 3.
- Why will this connect? // It will connect because you have good instincts. Listen to them. Trust them. Your creative instinct is necessary because if you don’t like what you are creating and it doesn’t connect with you…it won’t connect with anyone else.
- I don’t have enough time // We waste so much time worrying about the time we don’t have that we use the time we do have worrying. Dig in. Get to work.
- I don’t have enough resources // No one does. There could always be more. Limitations create opportunities for us to be more creative. When we lack resources, we are forced to do the hard work in creativity and not just buy our creative concepts.
- I have to always be the most creative and have the best ideas. The pressure to “be creative” often derails us from creating. Be your best and that will be MORE than enough.
Stop listening to these lies. We are all waiting on you to do your best to help our movement go forward and regain our position as the voices, faces, and force of creative culture.
What are some of the lies that you have bought that are just not true?
The big one for me goes along with the “I’m not good enough.” It’s the “You’re out of your league” lie that often gets me.
Thanks, this is incredibly timely.
The lie I most often tell myself is “it will hurt me less than it will hurt them”. I am working hard right now to express my feelings, thoughts and needs to others who have hurt me or who need to hear some tough truth. I tend to bottle up and keep my thoughts inside my mind to the point of feeling like I am going to explode. I tell myself that if I just keep it to myself, I am protecting them. However, in doing this, I am not only not being honest with them about how I feel, but also damaging myself, because we are not designed to live inside ourselves, but rather to be authentic and real with those around us. So no more lying about who it hurts more to be real – the fact is that it hurts everyone involved. Thanks for the blog today, Stephen!