Being Careful

Purple Ghost, mixed media on paper.

In the studio I've been playing with some new drawing materials and it feels great. I don't feel like I'm being careful which is how I know I'm on the right track.

I talk about the concept of Being Careful on my podcast this week. How are we incentivized to be careful in our creative work? And how can we stop being careful?

In the U.S. (or maybe this is global) we live in a culture that loves public shaming. We make a mistake, say the wrong thing, misinterpret something and the internet can jump on us in a second. As Jon Ronson talks about in his book, So You've Been Publicly Shamed, you don't have to have power, be a celebrity, or have a platform to be shamed on a massive scale. You can be anybody. At any time. For any human mistake.

This reality impacts our choices as creative people.

How can we feel safe to take chances in our work when we're constantly reminded of all the ways we can be shamed? 

I think about this sometimes - how one day I'll mess up. Big time. And say the very wrong thing. Make the very wrong image. Miss a crucial perspective. Maybe I've done it already (sorry :/). But the alternative to messing up is not doing the work at all. And I'm not down for that either.

To quote Alain de Botton: 'Shame is the enemy of connection.' 

I would add to this. Shame is the enemy of vulnerability. It's the enemy of risk. It's the enemy of expression. And we need all these things to make powerful creative work.

So I'm going to keep making mistakes, and learning, and apologizing, and taking responsibility, and being honest, and keeping on. And I really, really hope you do the same - OK?


More below.

Free therapy up in here.