“Let me list for you some of the many ways in which you might be afraid to live a more creative life: You’re afraid you have no talent. You’re afraid you’ll be rejected or criticized or ridiculed or misunderstood or—worst of all—ignored. You’re afraid there’s no market for your creativity, and therefore no point in pursuing it. You’re afraid somebody else already did it better. You’re afraid everybody else already did it better. You’re afraid somebody will steal your ideas, so it’s safer to keep them hidden forever in the dark. You’re afraid you won’t be taken seriously. You’re afraid your work isn’t politically, emotionally, or artistically important enough to change anyone’s life. You’re afraid your dreams are embarrassing. You’re afraid that someday you’ll look back on your creative endeavors as having been a giant waste of time, effort, and money. You’re afraid you don’t have the right kind of discipline. You’re afraid you don’t have the right kind of work space, or financial freedom, or empty hours in which to focus on invention or exploration. You’re afraid you don’t have the right kind of training or degree. You’re afraid you’re too fat. (I don’t know what this has to do with creativity, exactly, but experience has taught me that most of us are afraid we’re too fat, so let’s just put that on the anxiety list, for good measure.) You’re afraid of being exposed as a hack, or a fool, or a dilettante, or a narcissist. You’re afraid of upsetting your family with what you may reveal. You’re afraid of what your peers and coworkers will say if you express your personal truth aloud. You’re afraid of unleashing your innermost demons, and you really don’t want to encounter your innermost demons. You’re afraid your best work is behind you. You’re afraid you never had any best work to begin with. You’re afraid you neglected your creativity for so long that now you can never get it back. You’re afraid you’re too old to start. You’re afraid you’re too young to start. You’re afraid because something went well in your life once, so obviously nothing can ever go well again. You’re afraid because nothing has ever gone well in your life, so why bother trying? You’re afraid of being a one-hit wonder. You’re afraid of being a no-hit wonder”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Is it any wonder we don't start, get stuck, or can't finish? Are we surprised that we abandon or procrastinate on the things we really want to do because the stakes are that much higher when we actually care about doing it?
Fear loves inaction. It could hang out in there all day, thinking and stewing on things... on you.
A creative act, no matter how big or small, is an act of courage. We manifest our courage through the action we take. The more action we take, the more courage we make.
So throw open the doors, let the sunlight flood in, fill your lungs with a big breath of fresh air then, take the first step. It's going feel so good when that sunshine warms your face again. You'll no doubt kick yourself, Why have I been sat in that dark room for so long? But that's just fear talking, trying to lure you back in. Don't listen to it. Don't even think about it. Just take another step. And another. And another. And... What was that? I can't hear you... I can't... I...
So, open the door. Get out there. Out there is where you belong. Out there is where you want to be. Out there is where you get to be who you really are.
No more hiding in the dark. Are you in? Or should I say, out??