This is part 3 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”.
“A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind.”
– Lewis Mumford
Assuming that you’ve done what I asked yesterday and decided what you want, you’re probably wondering if it’s possible.
This is natural. If you’re not feeling any hint of trepidation, you’re not thinking big enough.
Challenge Leads To Flow…
According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychology professor who has researched the phenomenon in hundreds of people for decades, one of the essential elements of the flow state is challenge.
Because without challenges you’re not inspired to achieve. You must challenge yourself to prevent boredom which is in many ways the opposite of flow.
As Does Ownership Of Decisions
He has also found that those who regularly enter flow feel that they have ownership of their decisions. They have chosen their course of action which isn’t random or as a result of external circumstances.
Given that two of the prerequisites for getting into flow are challenge and ownership, it’s remarkable how many musicians, whether they be newbies or seasoned professionals, use external challenges as an excuse for a lack of action.
The “Excuses Hit Parade”
Two of the most beloved excuses for us musos are “the state of the economy” and “the music industry is dead”. We just love blaming our woes on either, or even better – both.
This isn’t new.
17 years ago, when I made my first record (it was an real vinyl record back then), I remember nervously shuffling into an industry executive’s office.
He took a great deal of pleasure in informing me that the recent recession was still causing “a bloodbath” (his words), and he couldn’t see it improving anytime soon as “the music industry is dead” (his words again).
He then told me to give up and do something else. Being young and foolish, I didn’t listen. And I went ahead and made a living for 17 years in the “dead” music industry. I still hear variations of the same story today.
And in another 17 years you will hear it again.
Challenges? Or Opportunities?
We are going through dark economic times.
And there have been seismic shifts in the way we write, distribute and consume music which has meant that some old models are dead. But that does not mean that the music industry is dead, it is just different. It will continue to change every day.
Change equals challenge. But challenges are simply opportunities in disguise if you have the right attitude.
So “the music industry is in such a state of flux that all bets are off” becomes…
“the music industry is in such a state of flux that anything is possible.”
Stop Complaining
Do you find yourself complaining and blaming external circumstances?
I know I did for years until I realised what I was doing. But by blaming something or someone else you are just moving your power from yourself to whatever you’re blaming.
Don’t let your challenges define you, because your response to them will always define what happens to you.
No More Excuses
“As far as I was concerned, the Depression was an ill wind that blew some good. If it hadn’t occurred, my parents would have given me my college education. As it was, I had to scrabble for it.”
– Sargent Shriver
There are a many reasons you could find for not be able to do something. But there are just as many you could find to do it. And while you’re making excuses there will be many just getting on with it and succeeding.
So if you decided what your perfect life or career would be last night and woke up this morning with thoughts like…
- “the music industry is dead”
- “the economy sucks”
- “I don’t have the time”
- “I don’t have the equipment”
- “I need more software”
- “I haven’t got the contacts”
- “I don’t have the talent”
- “I don’t know how”
- “I’m scared”
- “I’m too old”
- “I’m too young”
- “I’ve got kids”
- “I’ve got a high pressure job”
- “I need to pay the bills”
- “that record label ripped me off”
- “my agent is useless”
- “my manager only cares about his other artists”
- “I don’t get paid enough”
- “the crowd doesn’t understand me”
- “I’ll do it when I’ve…”
…remember that for every possible excuse you can find there will be hundreds, if not thousands who have overcome it.
Find Inspirational People And Read Their Stories
Even if you’re facing particularly challenging circumstances it’s likely that others have done the same.
It’s not hard to find people who have not only overcome huge adversity but found great success and understanding from that adversity.
In fact it’s startling how many say it’s the best thing that happened to them.
People like this refuse to let their circumstances determine their situation. And they aren’t special, they are ordinary people just like you who do special things.
So if you find yourself asking “who’s fault is this?” or “why me?”, just change the question.
Ask yourself “what can I do about this?” and notice how those challenges become opportunities.
This is part 3 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”.