Tip for choosing one creative project out of many, if you’re multi-creative
I’ve been thinking about all the projects I haven’t started over the years, and why that is. It hasn’t been for lack of intention, motivation, or even knowledge. Is it just lack of focus, or a little deeper?
If you can relate, I have tip for you (and me).
Read on…
This blog post is free from AI, and written by me. I share my opinions, experience, typos, and weird Danish/English grammar with you gladly and totally free of charge :)
There has been many projects and ideas I have wanted to do over the years.
If we ignore the classic mistake of announcing a new project before it’s done for a minute, and just focus on why so many of us, including past clients, have such difficulty choosing a project, especially if you have many ideas, and then getting it off the ground.
What’s behind the fear of starting a creative project?
One reason it’s hard to begin a creative project, speaking from own experience, and from women in my community who have freely shared with me, is having multiple choice.
We identify as multi-passionate creatives with several interests and passions we can’t seem to choose between. We want to use them all.
This becomes quite the task, as you can imagine.
Another fear is the fear of not being good enough, and this is what I’m diving into here.
Because I think, if we unpack the fear of not being good enough, there’s a sister-fear linked to that, which is self-trust.
Do I trust myself enough to figure out how to make this project?
Do I trust myself enough to follow it to the door, also when it’s not up to my (probably unrealistic) standard?
Do I trust myself enough to handle any negative feedback in a way that doesn’t swallow me up?
What if the endless obsession over picking the right idea, and evaluation over how many of your passions it includes, is really a sign of low self-trust?
There is definitely a truth in there for me, and so the question to myself then becomes, how can I gain that trust, and what is it about?
This is interesting, and I kinda’ know the answers.
When the personal stakes are high in creativity
I’d like to say I’m a perfectionist in recovery, but honestly, it’s not true. My thinking still defaults to all-or-nothing, and the standards I hold myself to are still ridiculous.
Also, my negative voice is loud and clear. So, it’s fair to say there’s a little work to be done still. In recovery with a way to go.
This all-or-nothing thinking is part of the tendency I have of attaching my worth to my work. It’s a common mistake.
Whatever creative project I choose becomes part of my identity forever, it’s permanent, and it has to 1000% from the get go …
The result of that kind of thinking is that I don’t trust myself to start something creative unless I know it’s good, meaningful and “me”.
With this kind of pressure, no wonder choosing becomes high stake.
For my amygdala brain to keep me safe, it has me doing endless research, going around in circles to view all ideas and projects from a 360 degree angle, and still finding reasons to delay.
This is why we (KMC coaches) talk so much about lowering the stakes as an effective creative tool.
A tip for choosing one creative project out of many
The tip for choosing a project if you have a few is to set up a container with the headline:
The Water Doesn’t Get Any Warmer If You Jump In Late
(I think credit goes to Grace Beverly)
Isn’t this a great quote? It is soooo true.
All the research and worry in the world won’t substitute working on the thing, even in the tiniest way.
Okay, so when you have given in to the fact that you have to pick your project, this is the other mindset you approach it with:
There is no perfect idea, project, or decision. Doesn’t exist.
But there is creativity in making the chosen decision right (and fun, profitable etc,)
The point is to lower the stakes in your thinking around projects.
Each creative work is just playing its part in your complete body of work. It’s a chapter you finish to move on to the next thing, in the words of Rick Rubin.
Your identity is safe no matter what creative work you do.
You put your decision in this container, separate it from you and what you see as your identity, lower the stakes waayy down, and this is where the work now lives.
Then you begin working on imperfect first, second, third versions.
Addressing fear of criticism
It is scary to share creative work, I don’t want to be flippant about that. There are real a-holes on the internet whose sole miserable job in life it is to bring other people down.
Also, many of my neurodivergent clients have, myself included, experienced quite a bit of criticism growing up, from our home and school environments, so we are perhaps particularly sensitive to personal attacks.
I don’t know, I’m partly guessing here. Maybe you’d think we get used to it, but I don’t think that’s the case, not for everybody, anyway.
This is why doing the work of understanding that your worth is your worth, and work is work, creative or otherwise, is important.
If you’ve been around my site, you’ll know that self-compassion is a core coaching, and life, pillar of mine.
Here’s a post about using this as a creative tool
Kristen Neffs work on self-compassion is the first thing I reach for when stuff gets hard. I recommend it.
The difference between creative work and other work
With most things in life, I’m quite action-fied. I don’t like long academic discussions about a problem, I like to get to the fixing part.
I see the same with most of my clients. They are accomplished professionals, with great careers and families.
When it comes to doing creative work, though, there is something so vulnerable and deeply uncomfortable about it that stops us.
The creative process naturally brings up fears, and so it takes a lot of courage to begin and continue.
It’s okay to make stuff for yourself.
It’s okay not wanting to pour your whole self into creative work.
It’s okay to start really small, I actually recommend it.
And it’s okay to feel scared as sh*t. I do. Most creatives I know do.
You have permission to do it your way. Just pick an idea, turn it into a project, practice your creative muscle, and have fun doing it.
Not too much to ask - haha :D
More creative coaching resources for you
There are more blog posts about creative processing.
Does your creative project need a little help?
Whether you live in Greenland, Kenya, Cannes or Alaska, if you’re creatively stuck on a project, and what you’ve read in this blog post resonates with you, feel free to reach out via my contact form here.
