What’s precious to you? What do you care deeply about? So much so that you’d be willing to examine it with brutal honesty and if needed, make a change?
In yourself? In your job? In your community? In your institutions? In your country? In this world?
And if you find that you just can’t change something, what do you care enough about to create brand spanking new?
Go make your change. Go make your art.
If you ask someone, “Why do you do it that way?” (You can ask yourself this very same question.)
And the response is…
“Because it’s always done that way.” Or “That’s what everyone else does.” Or “It’s industry standard.”
Be alert.
That probably means it’s a time for a change. (Management consulting, a $250 billion industry, was founded and continues to thrive on this single principle.)
Also be excited.
For therein lies your opportunity.
“Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease.” –Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)
“The bravest leaders and contributors aren’t worried about appearing afraid. It allows them to see the world more clearly.” -Seth Godin
“I don’t know” is a powerful answer to any question.
“I don’t know” is honest. It’s brave. It takes guts to admit. It also indicates trust. Meaning that you trust the person on the receiving end of “I don’t know” to not judge you. To still trust in your merit and ability and insight.
And remember…”I don’t know” isn’t a final answer. It’s just where you are now. You start with “I don’t know”, but can then learn as much about the issue or question or problem. And with that added knowledge, time and reflection, you make the best possible decision if/when you need to make one.
“A woodpecker can tap twenty times on a thousand trees and get nowhere, but stay busy. Or it can tap twenty-thousand times on one tree and get dinner.” -Seth Godin, The Dip
Thinking about sunk costs force us to contemplate the question, “To quit or to push through?”
Seth Godin wrote an excellent book about this very idea called The Dip which I highly recommend. It’s short but packs a wallop. I won’t elaborate here as I’d prefer you read the book. But here’s one giant takeaway, especially for those of us like me who have a hard time giving up on something or saying no…
It’s okay to quit something. Successful people across all industries have quit multiple things. And quit often.
But just like starting something, it’s really important to identify your “why” for quitting. If you don’t have a strong why, it might just mean you’re going through a dip and need to push through.
Once you figure it out either way, you’ll soar even higher.
“How did it get so late so soon?” -Dr. Seuss
“It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much. … The life we receive is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully.” -Seneca, On The Shortness Of Life
“Inelegantly, and without my consent, time passed.” -Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More Than You
Time is far and away the most valuable asset we have, but it’s a finite one.
And like all assets, the real value stems from how we use them.
If you respect it. If you’re patient with it. If you give yourself enough of it. You can do great and lasting things. Time can heal wounds. Time can perform miracles. Time can be your best friend.
If you disrespect it. If you’re always in a hurry. If you don’t appreciate it. Well, then….it can be your absolute worst enemy. (Observe yourself the next time you’re late for a meeting and stuck in bad traffic.)
Friend or foe, what’s it gonna be?
Ethan Edwards: “Well Reverend, looks like you’ve got yourself surrounded.”
Reverend Clayton: “Yeah and I figure on getting myself unsurrounded.” –The Searchers
D-Day: “War’s over, man. Wormer dropped the big one.”
Bluto: “What? Over? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!” –Animal House
You don’t have to give up, you know.
You can keep searching.
For how long?
As long as it takes.
Remember, nothing is over until you decide it is.
Keep searching. The answer will come.
“If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it” -Richard Rohr
Everything that happens, everything we experience, especially our suffering, can fuel our art.
And if we’re lucky, that art might someday alleviate suffering for others.
What a mighty gift and privilege we’re given as artists.
How we use it is up to us.
You can’t be a light in the darkness for others if your own light is flickering.
Self care is key. Good health, energy, passion and purpose.
When you’re feeling good, we’re feeling good.
If you found answers to every one of your excuses, allayed all your fears for why you’re not making your art right now, would you?…
(A) Go make it.
(B) Come up with new excuses.
“A meaningful life can be extremely satisfying even in the midst of hardship, whereas a meaningless life is a terrible ordeal no matter how comfortable it is.” -Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens
“Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” -Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search For Meaning
One of the biggest traits that evolutionary scientists say differentiate humans from other animals, specifically primates with which we have much in common, is our ability to tell stories. Humans are meaning makers. Even in the worst of times, we can determine what that suffering means and even use it to fuel our lives.
But there’s a catch. We have to choose. It’s up to us to decide what story we want to tell ourselves and others.
Go MAKE your life and your art. Don’t let it be made for you.
The Vs. Studio Blog