Why thinking is overrated
Last weekend my youngest wanted to play with his friend next door. He headed over and they ended up helping pick up sticks and raking up acorns. They’re still at the age where helping is fun. And bonus, he got five bucks for his hard work. He charged through the front door waving that five-dollar bill and immediately asked if we could go to the store. We didn’t end up at the store that day and he survived.
We all want things to happen right now. We’re creatures of instant gratification and waiting is hard. But, that’s not usually how life works.
Especially the creative life.
If you’re focused on the outcome.
We live in a culture that prides itself on the finish. What goals have you accomplished? What medals have you achieved? What degree do you have?
It’s crucial to your creativity to stop thinking about the end. In fact, Ray Bradbury says we should stop thinking, period.
“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. You simply must do things.” ~Ray Bradbury
Why is thinking the enemy and doing the hero?
Thinking about the finished product of your creative process is futile, frustrating, and leads to failure. That’s because there is no end.
You’re trying to reach a goal that doesn’t exist. Many accomplished artists can tell you they intuitively know when a project is finished, but it never really is.
Creativity continually expands.
Every time you put a brush to paper or your hands to clay, you’re tending a skill with no end.
That’s why I like to call it a creative practice.
A gentle creative practice can be a way for you to connect to your mind, body and soul in a new way. It is similar to yoga in that you practice being in the present moment, you practice letting thoughts go, and you practice flowing through your movements. There’s a beautiful flow to it when you let yourself go and enjoy the process.
I’m not perfect at this and I’ve been creative my entire life. When I started painting four years ago, I began to want a style. My own unique style that anyone could see and know that the art was mine without even seeing a name. Thinking about the “end” of having a style was not the way to find it. I had to do the painting.
I filled sketchbooks, canvases, wood panels, and watercolor papers with my painting marks. Last year, I finally painted something that felt completely like me and I fell in love with it. All of the hours practicing had come together into my style.
The funny thing about that is I thought I reached an end, but it wasn’t actually an end. When I look back through all of my old work, I see the threads of myself in them, I can see my style coming through years ago. What I really gained was confidence in the marks I make. That confidence allows me to keep going and expanding in new directions.
Through more doing.
You don’t have to be an artist to enjoy the benefits of creating. Just like you don’t have to be a master yogi to benefit from a yoga practice.
By focusing on the fun of the process, you can have instant gratification every day. You don’t have to wait for an outcome. That’s amazing, because In how many areas of life can that actually happen?
All you have to do is begin. Start small and allow yourself to grow slowly through the process. Forget about the end results and find joy in the moment.
If you aren’t sure where to begin, click here to watch a video about starting a gentle creative practice with minimal supplies.
