Some thoughts on creativity lately

I’ve been reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic for quite some time now. Some might say it must not be a very good book because I have been reading it for about a year at least.

The thing is: I’ve always been a very speedy reader. Since primary school, I have seen my speed reading as an asset. Reading out loud for speed was actually a test that all students had to go through at my first ever school. Strange I know. Because what really is the benefit of reading quickly?

As time went on, I realised that not that much actually sinks in with my pace of reading. So… I have decided to savour instead, read small juicy sips of literary nectar over time. What can I say? It actually seems to have started to sink in a lot more, slowing infiltrating every fibre of my being.

All of this chimes well with a thought I’ve been cultivating recently: small consistent steps over time are better than no steps at all. Or:

“Done is better than good.”

This is a phrase that Gilbert uses too in one of her chapters and it resonates so much. My perfectionism has always been a stumbling bloc, preventing me from doing, pulling me back from a venture before I’d even started. But with this mindset of “done is better than good” I suddenly feel a lot less pressured into producing something amazing.

Not everything you create has to be spectacular or a point of pride. There is so much shadow work (and crap work) in creative pursuits. I am tired of thinking about projects that never happen because I don’t think they will be good enough on paper.

So, I would much rather do small crappy things consistently over time than nothing at all. I would much rather create my own stuff than criticise others from my high horse of know-it-all about their art/writing/musicmaking etc. This is so often the case. Perfectionists who are too frightened to make their own mark becoming experts in the art of destroying and criticising others. I don’t want to be that gal. Not anymore.

Making your mark and showing up is a humbling and rewarding experience that gives you perspective and empathy. And who knows maybe some time inadvertently (oh it most likely will be inadvertently!) you or I might create something great.

Here is my done-is-better-than-good contribution to the world of creativity this month. My cat Cosmo asleep in a cosy hammock collage type thing as part of Instagram’s Bring Spring Art Challenge. And yes, I am officially back on Instagram because, you know, you are allowed to change your mind and adapt and be flexible (apparently).