This is part 7 of a 12 day blog series called “12 Steps You Must Take To Get Into Creative Flow Whenever You Want” or the more seasonal “The 12 Days of Creativeness”.
Do you assume that your creative process has to be an ongoing struggle?
I used to, and Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art” summed it up for me at the time.
It uses the metaphor of battle to describe the creative process. I loved it. It even inspired me to write a blog post.
But while I still hugely respect Steven Pressfield’s work, subscribing to this view of the creative process did me more harm than good.
My Epic Battle
I read ‘The War Of Art’ while I was on holiday.
I remember the feeling of significance it gave me. To think that my humdrum days in the studio were an epic battle!
I remember the noble purpose it gave me. To think that by creating my art I was defeating my demons daily!
It also gave me the perfect excuse if I didn’t manage to complete what I was working on. “Today the dark and formidable forces arrayed against me were too strong…”
But gradually I noticed that while it was a beguiling idea, it made my creative process much more difficult and laborious!
The Power Of Language
What do you think was the result of characterising my creative process as a battle?
That’s right, a whole world of pain every single day.
Language is powerful. It is the medium by which you describe your experience to others and more crucially to yourself.
But this is a two way street. When you describe your experience, you also create it.
So when you think about or talk about your creative process, start to notice the language you use.
Is it language that helps you or hinders you?
The Tortured Artist Myth
Many artists and musicians identify themselves as “tortured artists”.
I can’t speak for others, but I believe that I did because it gave me the significance and purpose that I didn’t have at that point.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! You have a choice. You can choose to make your work more fun, exciting, hard, challenging or anything by the words you use to describe it.
So if you want to be a tortured artist, and it helps you to make your creative process tortuous then by all means go ahead. But wouldn’t you prefer to find your work fun and easy?
Ok maybe not exactly easy…but then again, why not? I’ve had occasions when my creative process was easy, fun and it was when I did my best work.
Now I’m not saying that changing your language will always make your process easy or fun or whatever you choose.
But changing it will make it more fun or more easy or more whatever you choose.
Find A Different Metaphor For Your Creative Process
A metaphor is a way of describing something intangible with an image or story. You use them all the time. So when I decided to think of the creative process as a battle, I was buying into Steven Pressfield’s metaphor from ‘The War Of Art’.
Work out what metaphor you currently use to describe your creative process. Is it an uphill struggle? A mountain you climb? A battle?
How else could you describe it? A game? A dance? Digging for gold?
Once you’ve found one that works for you, make sure you take care to describe your process in this way to yourself and others. You’ll find yourself slipping into your old metaphor for a while, but with persistence it will change.
Give Yourself A Different Label
How would you describe yourself when you’re creating your music?
A tortured artist? An inexperienced amateur? An ageing has-been?
How about finding another which will give you the same benefits but not be such an energy suck?
Decide not to be a tortured artist, what about an inspired virtuoso? Decide not to be an inexperienced amateur, be a cutting edge game changer. Decide not to be an ageing has-been, be a legendary veteran.
Make life easy for yourself. No matter what most will tell you, ongoing struggle and pain isn’t a necessary part of the artistic process unless you want it to be.
It Can’t Be That Simple!
This isn’t the panacea for all your woes. It is just another piece in the creative flow puzzle.
But while it is simple, it is also powerful.
When I did this (for instance, I decided to think of my creative process as a game) I wasted less time, struggled less, stopped procrastinating, gained confidence and I started to make bold and exciting decisions.
These bold decisions started small but soon had major impacts on my whole life, such as emigrating to Australia and changing career. It is incredible what a few simple words can do.
By all means work hard. Just don’t make the work hard.
This is part 7 of a 12 day blog series called “12 Steps You Must Take To Get Into Creative Flow Whenever You Want” or the more seasonal “The 12 Days of Creativeness”.