A woman brought her two Pomeranians to a barbecue I recently attended. I had never met her before, but overhearing her give the dogs commands in Norwegian, Italian, and English sparked a conversation between us and another guest.
Hamburger in hand, the other barbecue-goer explained why he’s always had trouble learning a language other than English.
“I want there to be a word-for-word translation and get stuck because it doesn’t work like that,” he said.
I resonated with that experience and thought about where that outlook might pop up in other aspects of life and business:
There’s a reasonable question virtually everyone asks when they want to start a new creative project.
We all know I like questions, but if you dedicate too much time to this one, it can be more harmful than helpful.
“What’s the best way to do that?”
If you’ve ever decided to create a website or become a writer, you’ve likely asked yourself that question. I certainly did.
And when you’re out of your comfort zone, you often want a guide — a set of steps to follow.
Those steps are necessary at first, but large creative strides happen when you start operating with more fluidity. When you stop looking at your new endeavor like translating one language into another, word for word.
The common belief that could be blocking your creative potential is that you need to learn “the best way” to do something.
The desire to learn “the best way” often leads to asking endless questions rather than trying out the activity for yourself.
It’s understandable. You want to avoid making mistakes. But making (and learning from) your own mistakes will help you more than any question you could ask an expert.
The importance of being a Pomeranian
The Pomeranians weren’t bothered by the challenges of learning new languages. And their owner likely had to overcome the belief that it would be difficult to teach her dogs the languages she speaks.
They simply figured out ways to communicate that work for them.
Once you’ve learned the basics, you have to give your project your own color and richness, rather than try to mimic or duplicate someone else’s “best way.”
“The best way” to do something may not work for you at all.
If you keep searching for “the best way,” you’ll never discover your way.
Creativity is not linear
“Messy” is an understatement for my creative process.
It’s full of nonsensical phrases, tangents, mistakes, and experiments.
Certain articles I write begin with clear bullet points. Others begin as vague concepts. There’s no formula (which is convenient, because I don’t like that word anyway.)
Sometimes writing is easy; sometimes writing is hard.
The trick is to not get too attached to either experience. If you’re having a bad writing day, it won’t always be like that. If you’re having a good writing day, it won’t always be like that. You write (and keep writing) either way.
No matter what you’re working on, give yourself the freedom to try different techniques without getting discouraged if one method isn’t right for you. You can cross it off your list and try something else.
Move your creative project forward
Decide what you want to do, and do it your way.
Of course, you need to follow through to make sure you achieve your goals.
Since we like to pair creativity with productivity on Copyblogger, tomorrow’s post will outline a simple plan for managing a content project until it’s done.
See you then.
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Hi Stefanie,
I love this message. This is why I dig Copy Blogger so much. You offer a change up, a mindset component to blogging, not a “just do this and this and everything changes” type approach too common in the blog-o-sphere.
I answer hundreds of questions a week on forums, through my blog, social and email. 99% of blogger ask what to do to become successful. 1% ask who to be to become successful. Guess who succeeds quickly? The 1%. Because they knowing blogging is an energy game, a fluid game, a game of flux based on who you are BEING, NOT on what you are DOING.
I used to think like most bloggers. Like I was a robot, who could do a few robotic things, step by step, to get certain results. This is how our monkey minds work; step by step, do then get. But blogging and life do not work that way. I struggled horribly with the robotic blogging approach because creativity roots itself in fluid energy, not robotic steps. Then I had some success, but worked like heck to make ends meet.
Then I ditched the robotic approach, worked on my energy, and as my being/energy changed, my doings changed too. I even did less. To become more creative. Wow, who’d a thunk it? 😉 I wrote 126 eBooks, got featured on world famous blogs, my creativity went through the roof, and my profits surged too. Why? I took your advice to heart. Be a Pomeranian. They are open. No consciousness in the way, to block ideas or to see easy robotic hacks to solve creativity blocks.
My wife showed me a Facebook video last night of a 4 year old Russian girl who fluently spoke 7 languages. Like the Pomeranian, she was open, in the flow, a sponge. Not desperately looking for hacks or steps to take, to avoid her fears. Totally different energy. We all have that ability. When we stop trying to be robots and learn that openness, diving into our deepest fears and making fun a priority helps us become creative genii.
Thanks for sharing
Ryan
Thanks for sharing how you overcame the “robotic” approach to blogging, Ryan!
I’m reading Don’t Make Me Think, and this reminds me of the chapter I read last night on how we muddle through stuff instead of reading the directions. Basically, think of something that might work and give it a shot, rather than wondering if it’s the best option.
Oh, and I’d rather be a border collie.
Border collies are smart!
I once had a dog who was half miniature dachshund and half full-sized doberman. This is not a typo. Sweet as she could be, and dumb as a brick. Fortunately, my other dog was a border collie who trained her well.
Thinking unconventionally, discarding the set rules, and being yourself. That’s the true mantra for being creative and prolific.
Hi, Stefanie,
I love this message! It’s true — we often stifle our creativity by trying to fit ourselves into someone else’s mold. Maybe there is no “best” way!
— Melanie
Or maybe we all have our own “best” way. 😉
It’s a crazy kind of hybrid, isn’t it? I have spreadsheets to organize my writing and social media, but they’re messy and I don’t follow routine well with them. Some days the words fly off the keyboard; other times, it’s like tapping out sap for maple syrup. Wait, is sap in maple syrup?
Anyway, wonderful insight.