There’s only two types of people in the world — the ones that entertain and the ones that observe. Is that a direct quote from a Britney Spears song? Maybe. Whatever. Just stick with me here.
You see, my problem is this. I’m dreaming away—
—wishing I had a stable career as a writer, or musician, or really anything creative. Like, I’ve been streaming “let’s play” content in a dog costume because at this point, I’m just throwing spaghetti at the fridge and seeing what sticks.
And I’m not alone in these dreams. Last night, I was sitting in a dear friend’s living room with my wife discussing how we wished we could make a living off of our creative endeavors, me as a musician and writer, my wife as an artist, and my friend as an actress and playwright. That’s when my wife shared a gem of wisdom.
“You gotta do it every day. Even when it’s hard.”
She’s been practicing what she preaches too, drawing even just a small doodle on days when she feels uninspired. And it’s been paying off — her art has been getting way more attention lately, just because of the sheer volume of work she’s putting out into the world. I could make an entire separate blog post about the benefits of being prolific when it comes to putting your work out there, but in this post, I mostly just want to focus on how your perspectives change when you’re forced to work every day.
Like I previously said (or rather, like Britney said), there are two types of people in the world — those who entertain, and those who observe. Creators vs. consumers. And the difference isn’t necessarily creativity. Lots of creators really aren’t that creative, and lots of consumers have plenty of latent creativity waiting in the wings. No, what separates the two categories is the willingness to put in the work, to make something happen. Saying you’re doing something isn’t the same as doing it. You can call yourself a writer all you want, but if you never write, you’re actually a liar, and nobody likes those.
The solution is to constantly engage yourself in your creative interest. Every. Single. Day. It seems daunting at first, but it’s the only way to progress in your field. The trick is to build up whatever it is you want to do into a habit, even just a tiny one.
In James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits” (which I highly recommend), it is suggested that one find the initial spark of what it is you want to do, and turn that into a habit. Maybe you want to run more, but running a marathon seems too out of reach. Make your daily habit putting on running shoes. Put those shoes in the way of your door so you don’t forget. You might not necessarily go for a run, but you made that first step, and once you cross that line, you’re more likely to actually go for a run. It’s all about getting past that threshold.
This can work for just about any creative endeavor. Wanna write more? Just open up your word processor once a day. Maybe read through some past stuff. For convenience, do your writing on whatever device you use most. I’m writing this on my phone while sitting on the toilet, as a matter of fact. I’ve made a habit of just opening up my writing software whenever I have to, uh, answer nature’s call. Which is more frequently than I’d like to admit, but it’s good for my writing output.
If you make it a point to even just get a tiny bit better at your craft every single day, over several weeks or months or years, you’ll see exponential improvement in your skills. You just have to force yourself to do the thing, even on days when it feels like an impossible task. Carve out even a few minutes a day to practice or write or draw or what-have-you. Even if it’s not presentable, at least you did something for the day, and that’s what matters. It’s all about keeping up that inertia — the more you do it, the more you’ll keep doing it.
So my challenge to you this week is to find a way to make your creative passion into a daily habit. Find ways to make that habit unavoidable, and keep up that creative grind. It’ll all pay off in the end.
JESSA JOYCE 