Creativity and Results

For the creative people who, like me, are astounded by the work and genius of those successful in our respective fields. Who want to start creating something meaningful, even if they don't know exactly what.

I recently watched Merlin Mann's talk entitled "Towards Patterns in Creativity" [link]. I'm not going to explain who Merlin Mann is, because I don't really know. I found the talk through yet another blogger that goes by Greyscalegorilla who recently got caught up in idea of input and output as actions in our lives. Point being that we, the creative people, are constantly saturated with input. We're all reading, and watching and sometimes even taking notes, hoping to find that something that will inspire us into doing something really amazing. Greyscalegorilla's assignment to we-the-viewers, was to do some creative output today. Just assume that you already have all the tools you need to do what you want to, and go and do it.

In Merlin's talk he showed a slide with the following, "Creative work, summarized: In the time you set aside each day to work your ass off, ignore anything that makes you consider stopping."

Here are some of the things I've been thinking about.

• Creative professionals have no shortage of inspiration, the hard part is turning it into something awesome.
• Those of us stuck in between spend too much time reading books about how to do things. It's not about tips and tricks, it's about focus.
• "Scratching" (per Twyla Tharp). Get a box. Set time aside to go and find stuff to put in it. Have a high tolerance for ambiguity, and trust that you will find a way to interpret what you've collected. The point here is that you have a place to collect your inspiration.
• Be willing to make sacrifices along the way. Again, "...ignore anything that makes you consider stopping."

I'll end this here, knowing that anything else I write will likely be a vacuous effort to end with a profoundly inspiring and witty message. Forget the wit. Forget the how-to books. Make something.

How heavy is this glass of water?

My uncle in Kansas (Hey Uncle Dave! if you're reading this) regularly forwards emails to me and the rest of the family.  Some are funny, some are amazing, some aren't worth the time it takes to delete them, but still others are really inspiring.  I thought I'd share one here, because the wisdom in these words can't be oversold.

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water? "

Answers called out ranged from 8oz. to 20oz. 

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it." 

"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance." 

"In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." 

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on." 

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. " 

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow." 

"Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy!"

Zen mind

Clarity of mind comes in waves for me. I have always been this way. Left and right brain must take turns like alternating pistons in a car engine. When the balance isn't just right, it's as though a veil is pulled over my eyes. Things aren't clear as they once were. I feel uninspired, numb to the beautiful infinity unfolding all around.

This week that veil is sliding off and I'm starting to feel a rhythm to life again. Everything, it seems, is just a little bit easier: waking up in the morning, dealing with daily stressors, even simply thinking two steps ahead of any moment. It's so strange to look back and think, "when exactly was it that I was so stuck in the mud? It must have been so hard for me." But I think back and recall a week in Mexico, two in Peru, and countless triumphant weekends with my family, friends, and girl'fiend.

I expressed in my last entry that I felt drained by work days. I think that this is where I'm reconciling my groove. Today I got to work half an hour early, and left an hour and a half late. When I arrived at North Station, 30 minutes sat between me and the next ride home, and yet I felt no frustration. I spent the time drawing the people around me. On the train, I put pencil to paper again and next thing I new I was fantasizing about surfing sunset at OB.

Last night I meditated for 30 or 40 minutes, there must be irony in this considering the previous paragraph contains about 13 instances of the pronoun "I" by my count. Self absorbed as I am at this moment, last night was a welcome deviation into emptiness. The night before I spent about 2 hours working on a drawing and more time messing around with oil pastels. This is definitely a favorite form of meditation for me. The mind becomes so fixed on shape and shadow that nothing else can distract. A hand may travel to scratch an itch, or the body may reposition itself more comfortably, but the mind defers all these things to the reflexes.

It is claimed that meditation is like an exercise for the mind -- that repeated practice yields improved focus and clarity. I subscribe to this belief, though my experience with rigorous meditation is lacking. The world around can be so over-stimulating that it pollutes and numbs the senses. Sometimes I wonder if a day will come when I will be unaffected by the sound of a car accident. Whatever the case, I aim to chase down the luminescent clarity and focus that has time-and-again washed over me, maybe this time I can ride it out.

Convenience

I had a fire in my belly. I wanted to get out of this state, and do something new; to fly out of the country; to drive a thousand miles south, and watch the weather change gradually from cold and snowing to 80 degrees and sunny. Maybe I just wanted to do something that I won't forget to help me remember this exact moment in my life. In a short week, I'll be leaving my unstructured, freelancing ways for a full time work schedule. I'm excited to finally do so, but I want to make the best of what's left of it.

I don't mean to sound resentful, but the metaphorical fire in my belly has been metaphorically pissed on by pretty much everyone I turned to. Disappointment, I suppose, is what I'm feeling. It's unfortunate that we've reached the point in our lives when spontaneity is either impossible or inconvenient.

For me, this year is just about to get started, and so February is not too late to make goals for the new year. I have two:

1. Excel at work: The past few years in my life have been characterized by me spreading myself too thin between my interests. This year I will reinvest countless hours spent studying into work at Broad. What's more is I will finally be getting paid for it. Research and work are now one and the same.
2. Spend waking hours alive: There are 112 waking hours in a week. 40 of these will be spent at work. This leaves me with 72 hours to live my life however I want. My goal, is simply not to let convenience influence my actions too heavily. If I want to travel to Niagara Falls with Ashley, if I haven't spent much time with friends, if I suddenly feel like catching a swell in Florida, I'll do it.
   

168 hrs/week - 40 hrs work - 56 hrs sleep = 72 hrs living