The Vs. Studio Blog

“Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.” -Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

We’re not as rational as we think.

Just look back on all your past decisions and actions, and the thinking (or lack of it) behind them. Some were good. Some were well…

We’re not always rational. We’re messy. Emotional. We have tons of blindspots and we bungle all kinds of decisions.

That’s okay.

We’re human.

Remember this in your art (aim to be truthful over being “logical”) and in your life (be aware of all your cognitive biases so you can make better decisions).

And read this phenomenal Farnham Street article/interview recap. The eleven takeaways he lists are spot on.

Speaking of meditating and being still, one idea that might help (my good friend Z passed this on to me)…

Picture your monkey mind and anxious thoughts as just foam. To get to the good stuff, to get to the beer, you’ve first got to pour out the foam. So let those thoughts just pour out of you. Don’t resist them. Be thankful for them. Eventually you’ll find your stillness.

And if that fails, go have a Guinness!

“All of humanity’s problems stem from a person’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” -Blaise Pascal

“I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.” -Mahatma Gandhi

“Be still and know that I am God.” -Psalm 46:10

“Stillness is what aims the archer’s arrow. It inspires new ideas. It sharpens perspective and illuminates connections. It slows the ball down so that we might hit it. It generates a vision, helps us resist the passions of the mob, makes space for gratitude and wonder.” -Ryan Holiday, book Stillness Is The Key

“Do you have the patience to wait
Till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
Till the right action arises by itself?” -Lao tzu, Tao Te Ching (Stephen Mitchell translation)

If you’re trying to be still and meditate and you just can’t because your monkey mind is running all over the place and you have all these anxious and sometimes angry thoughts like “why am I here?”, “this is stupid”, “I’m getting nothing out of this?”, “what am I gonna eat for dinner?”, “why did that person say that to me?” “I wanna do something else with my life”, “what should I do with my life?”, “what is my purpose?”, “this is stupid”, “I don’t have time for this,” “who sits like this and just does nothing?”, “I suck at meditating”, “this isn’t for me”…and you just wanna get up and be done with it…

…That’s good. That’s really good.

It means you’re doing it. You’re in the right spot.

Keep doing it.

Thank your thoughts and keep being still

The clarity you seek will come.

Trust.

Be still.

“There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot.” -Robin Williams

“Heads I win, tails I don’t lose much.” -Mohnish Pabrai

You’re right, it might not work.

But it also might work. 

Bigger and better than you ever could have imagined.

It’s 50/50. A coin toss.

You won’t know until you actually flip the coin and try.

So go for it. Flip the coin.

And the really good news?

Either way, heads or tails, it’s a win.

Because the real value is in the attempt.

Go make your art.

P.S. – This scene. So good.

If you sit down to write something after you get an idea (a zig), and as you’re writing it, you hear a little voice telling you to move in “this direction” (a zag)…

…Listen and follow it. It’s your subconscious calling.

Don’t be married to your original idea. Let it go with gratitude.

For it got you to sit down and start writing in the first place.

P.S. – My initial title for this post was “That Little Voice” and then a little voice told me to change it to “Zig, Then Zag. So I listened to it.

“You don’t need more time, you just need to decide.” -Seth Godin

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.” -Leonard Bernstein

(1) The Pareto Principle: 80% of the results you seek will come from 20% of your actions.

(2) Parkinson’s law: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

How to apply these two “P’s” towards anything you want to accomplish?…

Figure out the most vital actions. This will take some trial and error at the beginning. But commit to figuring out what those are. (Continuously asking yourself the magic focusing question will help.)

Once you’ve decided, eliminate everything else.

As a result of going through the first “P”, you can now apply the second “P.” Which is really just about having confidence that you can accomplish the vital action in whatever time you have. And do it really well.

Because you can. You really can.

P.S. – H/t to my friend Jeff for the Bernstein quote above.

In the pursuit of your goal or dream, there will be many days you just go through the motions. And when you do, you’ll feel like crap. Like you didn’t do much. You didn’t accomplish anything. You didn’t give your best. You’ll berate yourself. You’ll be tempted to quit your pursuit.

Please don’t.

Keep going.

Just go through the motions. Get through it.

Remind yourself that at least you’re in motion.

Which is far better than where you were before you took on this goal.

Which is at rest. Not going anywhere.

One more post about feedback (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). This one’s culled from personal experience…

When I was a younger actor and directors would give the cast notes after rehearsals, I’d sit there and silently hope I wouldn’t receive any. Or that I’d be the exception and get praise…”Johnny, I have no notes. That was perfect!” (My insecurity and ego both talking to each other.)

Of course that wasn’t the case.

I’d get notes, sometimes a whole lot of them, and upon receiving them, I’d either defend/explain what I was doing in the rehearsal or shut down because I felt like the worst actor in the world.

One day sensing my poor body language, a wise director pulled me aside and asked me what was going on. After several minutes of explaining myself, he stopped me and said (paraphrasing):

“You’re thinking about this all wrong…If I don’t give praise, that means you’re doing it right. So you don’t need to look for it. I cast you in this play because you’re a great actor and right for this part. I assume you know that…I only give notes on what needs work. And that’s because I care about you and the cast as well as this play and the audience…And by the way, if I didn’t care, then I wouldn’t say anything. Then, you really should be worried.”

That conversation changed me. Not that I’m perfect. I still get insecure and still have to battle my ego. But in those moments, I remind myself to actively seek out those notes. Because the notes are a gift. They are the only way to get better. To do the kind of meaningful and impactful work that we as artists all strive to do.

“When we seek feedback, we’re doing something brave and foolish. We’re asking to be proven wrong. To have people say “You thought you made something great, but you didn’t.” Ouch. What if, instead, we seek advice? Seek it like this: “I made something that I like, that I thought you’d like. How’d I do? What advice do you have for how I could make it fit your worldview more closely?” That’s not criticism. Or feedback. That sort of helpful advice reveals a lot about the person you’re engaging with. It helps us see his or her fears and dreams and wants. It’s a clue on how to get even closer next time.” -Seth Godin

Thanks to everyone for your great comments on yesterday’s blog post about seeking out feedback. I’m thrilled to hear it resonated.

For a bit of a deeper dive, I thought to share some prior posts I wrote about this topic:

“On Giving Feedback”

“On Receiving Feedback”

“Affirmation Or Feedback?”

And here are three great Seth Godin posts:

“The Empathy Of Useful Feedback”

“Actionable Feedback”

“We Don’t Care Enough To Give You Constructive Feedback”

Let me know your feedback. 🙂

“Everyone says they want feedback, but most just mean they want positive feedback. If you can seek out constructive feedback and embrace it, you will always outmatch the person who runs from it.” -Sahil Bloom

“Defensiveness shuts conversations down, inhibits curiosity and reconnection, and escalates friction…It leaves little room for understanding or repair—and gets in the way of the open, honest communication a relationship needs to thrive.” -Saba Harouni Lurie

Your whole life will change for the better when you learn the art of taking constructive feedback. When you realize what a gift it is that someone took the time to help you and your work.

When you’re doing it right, you’ll actually seek it out. Even when it’s tough to hear.

One last thing…if you’re not regularly getting constructive feedback, or worse, all you’re hearing is how great you are, then that’s the time to really seek it out.