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Let’s talk about creative projects for a moment. Maybe it’s your book, your blog post, your workshop, your sermon, your event…
Wouldn’t it be so great for the entire thing to flash in our minds from start to finish before we took the first step? To be able to see exactly how it’s going to unfold and to be guaranteed of its success before spending an iota of our time or risk on the thing?
Not usually how it works.
Here’s how it does work—we only see the part of it that we can grab on to.
That inkling, that idea, that initial pull. That’s the only area of our work for the moment. Taking the one step into that.
That tiny piece that you can see, you must start there and let destiny handle the rest.
If you want to bring a creative project into the world, your only job is to take the one step that’s lighted in front of you.
To give you a visual, think about entering a dark cave with a headlamp on. And not a very good one. Like, one of those Coleman ones from Target that only lights up about six feet in front of you (hey, better than nothing). Well, if you were really into spelunking (you spelunker, you), you’d have to take a step before the next six feet were revealed to you. And then the next.
That one first step of getting that thing down on paper—just the bit of it you can see right now—that’s your only work. That’s your part.
This post, right here, started as a text to myself that said, “It’s important to know our role in the creative process and not overcomplicate it.” That’s all I had. As I sit here, I started with that and more is unfolding (along with that awesome spelunking metaphor—damn, I’m having way too much fun writing that word—spelunking, spelunking, spelunking…).
This takes faith. Faith means being okay with not knowing exactly how this thing is going to unfold. It’s exercised by knowing your role—your only role—in the creative process: following your curiosity and taking the one single step in front of you.
Get your epic weekend event out of your head and on paper. Outline it. See it unfold out there, not in your brain.
You might surprise yourself with how it turns out.
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This post was originally published on medium.com, and is republished here with the author’s permission.
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Photo credit: Rachael Gorjestani on Unsplash