It’s been just over a year since I started sharing my writing with anyone other than my professors. As I uploaded my first post to Medium, I was convinced that with consistency and a continued willingness to be vulnerable, I’d have at least a few hundred followers a year on and one of my posts would have gone viral by now.
The reality is that the growth has been non-linear and much slower than anticipated. At the beginning of any endeavor, you’re eager and optimistic and there’s also this huge surge of support because everyone’s so excited for you.
In time, things start to plateau. Your optimism wanes a little, the external support seems to exponentially decline and the feelings of “am I doing the right thing?” start to creep in.
Having tried this writing thing for a year now, I’m in that dreaded and awkward stage that feels akin to a slump. If you’re experiencing something similar on your own creative path, here are a few reflections from the past year that may help:
When you’ve gotten into a groove of routinely creating and sharing work, try your best not to fall off because it’s really hard to get started again. Not necessarily because of any insurmountable obstacles, but more because of the fear and anxiety that creeps back in. When you have momentum, the fear temporarily leaves you; when you stop for too long, it all comes rushing back and you feel like you’re back at square one.
Don’t be too annoyed if people aren’t sharing your work. Maybe it’s not resonating with them, maybe they’re not interested, maybe they’re too lazy to share. Don’t take other people’s silence personally, it does not mean you or your work are shit.
Only creating when you feel as though that creation will be life-altering is just another form of procrastination. An overwhelming amount of work you create will not be all that profound and that’s very okay.
On the matter of inspiration though, in the rare instances that you feel a powerful surge to create, MAKE the time to do it. Projects rarely feel as exciting as in that first instance where you are just in a tizzy because you can’t believe the shit you just came up with. So, when you get that feeling, make the most of it.
Quantity breeds quality. Contrary to what I used to believe, it’s not a trade-off. Quite simply, the more you practice, the better you get. Even when you feel like the quality of your work is atrocious and you can’t bear to look at it, push through and know that tomorrow’s process probably won’t be as shitty. You have to let yourself be bad in order to get good.
That anxiety you feel about how much people are going to sit there and judge and critique your work? No one cares that much. If it piques their interest, they will stay, and if it doesn’t, they will move on. Unless you are genuinely God awful at whatever it is you are trying to do, people are not judging you that hard. In the case that you are objectively (currently) crap, you have two options: keep practicing in private, or, cut your losses and do something else.
There’s this trope that creatives don’t need structure and you should just go with the ‘vibe.’ LOL. This is yet another form of procrastination. Some structure is needed because structure means accountability. Structure with flexibility is the goal. At first, having a schedule will fucking suck, but eventually, you’ll settle into it and your future self really will thank you.
All the greats keep saying discipline is the key to success so perhaps they’re on to something. Discipline is depicted as some sort of punishment, but it really always tends to be for your benefit. Know what all your excuses and lies to yourself are and find ways to circumvent them.
Stop listening to your feelings so much. Some creatives operate off of their feelings, so if we’re not feeling good, we might not create. But there is a gamut of feelings we experience every day and if you use them as an indicator of whether or not to work, best of luck to you. I can’t remember a time when completing a task- irrespective of my mood -has made me feel worse. On the contrary, ignoring my responsibilities because of my mood has always left me feeling crap.
Don’t ever get complacent. It’s easy to keep doing the same things when you’re achieving semi-good results, but you’ll also never grow. If you know you’re capable of more, then do more. Don’t be the reason you’re not achieving your full potential.
Focus on those supporting you vs those who aren’t. When you focus too hard on capturing the attention of those who aren’t really interested in your style of work, you’re more likely to compromise yourself and your message. By paying attention to your audience, you’re staying authentic, strengthening those connections, and are also more likely to draw in similar people.
In a similar vein to the point above, take a step back from trying to be viral and focus on creating good work. It’s really easy to get caught up by ‘blowing’ but once you blow, then what? It’s a very empty goal. Not only that, but virality is dependent on the engagement of people and people are fickle. Find the balance between following your gut and incorporating feedback.
Focus on you and your unique message. We can’t be pioneers if we’re all sitting there copying each other now, can we?
Be grateful for the current support you’re receiving. Even if it’s five people, you better thank the shit out of them. Nice messages are one of the best pick-me-ups when you feel like you’re not getting traction.
Just because people aren’t saying anything doesn’t mean they don’t see you. Some people are shy, coy, or just strange. You’re probably making more of an impact than you know.
Experiment. This is the time to take risks. If it flops, it flops. If it goes well, you go again. No one is as concerned about your failure as you are. Just do it. As you experiment, also take note of what’s working and what’s not-both in terms of how it is received and also how it made you feel.
If you fail spectacularly, let’s say you get like three likes, have a laugh about it. This shit will literally not matter to you like six months down the line.
While hype men are lovely, we all have room to grow. Have people in your life who give you constructive feedback.
Most importantly, remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Tattoo this on yourself, buy a huge poster, or make it your lock screen-put it somewhere where you’ll always see and remember.
It will take the pressure off of you to constantly create spectacular work, allow you to give yourself the room to experiment because you know this one creation is not the be-all and end-all and you will focus on more sustainable and consistent ways of producing.
Viewing the journey as a marathon will also help give you perspective when you unfairly compare yourself to people who are in their tenth year of doing what you’re doing. If you really want to feel consoled, look at your favorite creative’s work from their first year.
You shouldn’t be competing with anyone else. But if you must, that is what you should be comparing yourself with, not the them from now.
As Tiwa from Confident and Killing It said:
“Start with baby steps and build momentum. That’s the real key to lasting change.”
If you’re starting on a new path, what have you found the most challenging so far? And which reflections have most resonated with you?
Before you leave, click here to join my mailing list so you get notified each time there’s a new blog post. Stay well and until next time!
Things that influenced this post:
“Why Quantity Should Be Your Priority” (video)
“Stop Waiting for Your Big Break” (blog post)
This thing called life.
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Previously Published on medium
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Photo credit: iStock
