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The Dark Side of Creativity (25 Reasons to Give Up Now)

Tuesday 30th March 2010 | 15 comments

I was working with a client this week who is struggling with demons. Not the send-for-an-exorcist kind, but the ones that get into your head and try and talk you out of starting or finishing a creative project.

We are always happy to talk about the upside of creative thinking and creative expression, the joys and the benefits. It would be easy to get the impression that all you have to do is make the leap, buy that sketchbook or that mindmapping software, start running brainstorming sessions at work, and your life is guaranteed to be blissful and satisfying from then on...

Not necessarily.

So, what is the downside?
There are lots of reasons people are cautious about creativity, most of which have at least some truth in them. Here is my (not so) short list, after only a few minutes' thought:

1. Creativity involves a loss of control
2. It takes you outside your comfort zone...
3. which is guaranteed to arouse the curiosity of your inner critic.
4. Creativity involves failure.
5. Creativity involves doubt.
6. Creativity involves despair.
7. It requires taking risks (over and over again...).
8. There is no step by step process to follow (sorry, paint-by-numbers pictures don't count).
9. Those around you may not approve.
10. It doesn't guarantee you an income...
11. or approval...
12. or acceptance...
13. or critical acclaim...
14. or understanding.
15. You have to start again as a beginner (even if you are 55 and have a corner office and a key to the executive bathroom).
16. It cuts across the well established structures and habits of your life and may create chaos where previously there was order.
17. Creativity requires time, both in the doing and in the letting ideas bubble away 'til they are cooked (and no recipe can tell you when exactly that will be...).
18. People may laugh.
19. The boss may be cross.
20. You may be totally dissatisfied with the results.
21. There may be no results.
22. It can be very very scary to let go of knowing all the answers and sit in uncertainty.
23. It can feel very unfamiliar...
24. and very uncomfortable.
25. There is no external authority to tell you whether you are getting anywhere (your Mum doesn't count).

So, what to do?
After another few minutes, I came up with a second list, this one a bit more cheerful, with ways to help yourself work around some of these dilemmas:

1. Take small steps, baby steps, towards your creative destination.
2. Listen to your insides telling you when to pause, to rest, to slow down.
3. Be aware that you are not alone; anyone who has trodden the creative path has dealt with at least some of these issues.
4. Read accounts by leaders and writers and entrepreneurs and artists and chefs and scientists and explorers anyone who has tried something new - it can be very reassuring to see the recurring themes, and such accounts are often full of ideas about dealing with it.
5. Find some like-minded souls - join a writers' circle, a thinkers' group, a painting studio...go online or check your local bookshop. Do whatever you have to do to connect with others, if you can't find a group, start one!
6. Never ever ever ever give up. (This doesn't mean you can't pause, so long as sooner or later you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again...)
7. Don't burn your bridges all at once - keep at least a foothold in your safe, known world.
8. Keep balance in your life between the new and the familiar, the safe and the dangerous, the known and the unknown.
9. Find a mentor, someone who has been where you are now and can be living proof that there is a way though it all...
10. if this is a work scenario, find a champion in your work world, someone who will support your dangerous ideas
11. Put together structures in your life that can support you to succeed.

The Litmus Test
As a litmus test for whether you are ready to have a creative adventure or two, ask yourself this question:

Is it more important to me to stay safe, or am I prepared to leave the harbour, even if it means losing sight of the shore for a day or two?

Remember also that humans are hardwired to be explorers, to be curious, to play with new ideas - your soul knows this and will keep niggling at you, even if your mind is trapped in that other great piece of hardwiring, the ability to worry about consequences. It's your choice which you listen to - pay attention to both, but try not to let the inner worrier talk you out of taking your inner adventurer off the beaten track to explore something new!

Are you up for it?

Tags: creativity, tips

Comments

1. Thanks for this - I did one of your creative writing courses and a piece I sent to Heckler ended up on their web blog site rather than in the heckler. When months later I discovered this, it was quite cheering. I currently have another idea, for a book this time, and this is keeping my creative urge in check - this might help me give up or continue, I'll let you know.

   Cheers David

   Posted by David | Wednesday 31st March 2010 @ 8:54am

2. Hard wired for exploration and change.
   I like this phrase, well put.

   What we also need is stamina! Together with creative approaches and desire for exploration.

   Nothing can be realised overnight and I find it is a critical skill to keep looking at the direction where things are heading and tune back in in case we get frustrated or off the track.
   Not having a goal, but a direction. That means we stay open and creative and keep moving forward.

   Finding the right pace.
   Keeping an open mind.

   I am getting carried away. I am in the midst of it.
   cheers
   Astrid

   Posted by Astrid | Wednesday 31st March 2010 @ 9:02am

3. Hi Joanna,

   I attended your Camp Creative Class this year. What a serendipitous posting you just wrote! I was just sitting back in bed - on my day off - and thinking "maybe I should just let go of this whole 'writing a book' dream. I mean, it's a lot of work, it may not pay off, I feel I set myself apart from my co-workers a bit because of it, I should just have the same goals as everyone else, I could be cruising on my day off instead of putting energy into something that may not pay off, who do I think I am, if it is actually published that could be very scary and may change my life in ways I may not want blah blah blah..........
   Wow - your email came just as I finished that whole train of thought. THANK YOU!!! I am printing it out and pasting it to my wall!!

   Posted by Eileen | Wednesday 31st March 2010 @ 9:18am

4. Thanks to David, Astrid and Eileen for kicking off the discussion here. Clearly this post has struck a nerve!

   Bravo, David, that's great news about your heckler, congrats.

   Eileen, I love the idea of sticking the lists to the wall - so long as you focus on the second list to inspire you, rather than the first list to scare you witless!

   And remember List 2, point 6 - Never ever give up. I am coming to realise that persistence is EVERYTHING in this work...

   Posted by Joanna Maxwell | Wednesday 31st March 2010 @ 9:27am

5. Hi Joanna,

   The first bit was the bit that calmed me. It made me realise that those thoughts I have are not evidence that I should perhaps give up but rather a normal side product of the creative process - so I found the first bit very comforting, big relief and reassuring - lovely!

   Posted by Eileen | Wednesday 31st March 2010 @ 9:31am

6. Hi Joanna,

   The first bit was the bit that calmed me. It made me realise that those thoughts I have are not evidence that I should perhaps give up but rather a normal side product of the creative process - so I found the first bit very comforting, big relief and reassuring - lovely!

   Posted by Eileen | Wednesday 31st March 2010 @ 9:37am

7. Eileen, thanks for highlighting this. I actually wondered when I re-read it this morning whether I had brought that point out well enough - not to worry, you have done it for me, much appreciated!

   And yes, it is absolutely all part of the process...

   Posted by Joanna Maxwell | Wednesday 31st March 2010 @ 9:38am

8. Hi Joanna
   Again - refreshing and reassuring. I'm about to embark on offering a Brief Coaching Training for the first time and am wrestling with PLENTY of doubting moments. And after reading your words, I realised that I am a star at showing up with energy and commitment to all kinds of work things that other people deem necessary and important but that have very little to do with my being on creative purpose. So, perhaps its time for me to show up in just as shining a way, despite the doubts and uncertainties that doing something novel bring. Hmmm... now there's an obviously good idea - duh one might say now that I've thought it. Keep your words coming - and may they have as nourishing an effect on you as they do for tour readers! Best wishes, Svea

   Posted by Svea van der Hoorn | Thursday 1st April 2010 @ 3:48am

9. Thanks Svea...good luck! And how did you guess that I am much better at dealing with the demons of others than with my own??

   Posted by Joanna Maxwell | Thursday 1st April 2010 @ 8:07am

10. Joanna, It is always good to know what we are up against. The fear of not knowing is a powerful deterrent to creative activity. With your list we know the worst that can happen. So, go forth and create. @TweetRightBrain

    Posted by Denny McCorkle | Sunday 4th April 2010 @ 3:59pm

11. Thanks, Denny. Yes, I always think of fear as a creature that thrives in dark corners - open the door and shine some light on it, and it is (almost) never as bad as we imagine. At the least we can see its size and shape and colour, and plan what we need to do to manage it!

    Posted by Joanna Maxwell | Monday 5th April 2010 @ 5:05pm

12. Hi Joanna

    Thank you for this post - it is very timely for me. So much easier to just shut down, walk away and not have to think about it all. Love the idea of a safe harbour.
    Best wishes

    Posted by Grace | Monday 5th April 2010 @ 9:58pm

13. Safe harbours have a great appeal...and are definitely necessary between journeys. But a life lived only in the harbour could become stifling, and ultimately not very satisfying, I think?

    Posted by Joanna Maxwell | Monday 5th April 2010 @ 10:40pm

14. Fantastic Blog Joanna,

    Hit it just right. I'll be sending this through to many

    Nige

    Posted by Nigel Collin | Tuesday 6th April 2010 @ 9:33am

15. Thanks Nige, high praise indeed, coming from you :)

    Posted by Joanna Maxwell | Tuesday 6th April 2010 @ 9:38am