120: Recap (XII)
On reconciling process and outcome(s).
What impedes creative work?
Some common obstacles include :
- Identifying with an inner-critic voice
- Feeling daunted by impossible standards
- The tendency to arbitrarily quantify progress
- Attempting to create and analyze, simultaneously
In the last recap, I discussed the risks of anchoring on empty success metrics and comparisons. Afterwards, readers sent in a bunch of excellent replies. Thank you!
Something else I've been pondering: Can one create freely and still "compete"?
Recently, a friend shared this POV :
From my experience in BJJ competition: The closer you get to game day, you need to have a level of self-deluding confidence and belief in invincibility and unstoppable-ness. Creation-wise, you need to get to the point of believing your work is excellent, unassailable, must be in the world, will win over readers or viewers etc.
But once you’ve hit send or step up to the mat, you have to accept your preparation and work for what it was: Become divorced from the outcome, and take pride in your journey to the finished product.
If it wins, it wins. Regardless, onto the next.
Learn from the loss or build on the win (or winning elements).
My take: To pursue a creative vision, you need strong self-belief and some amount of openness and calm detachment. Both aspects are necessary.
But I also think they exist in tension.
Is it possible to invest fully in a creative process while also remaining gently disconnected from any specific outcome? How to reconcile these contradictions?
I'd love to hear from you!
The last nine
