1579: Do it scrappy
If you wish you had a regular creative practice, but only create once in a blue moon, this one’s for you.
Episode transcript:
Good morning Daily peppers and a very happy Friday to you. So sometimes I sit down with my microphone and I have absolutely no idea about what that day's daily pep is going to be about. My mind goes completely blank and I just sit here for a bit. I'd love to say that I have some kind of box of tricks or some magic strategy, but really I just let my brain wander for a while. I often get sidetracked. I literally did just now, looking up somebody I haven't seen for over 20 years on Facebook. But at some point there will be something that gives me the seed of an idea and and rather than sit with it until it's completely fleshed out, I press record and I see what happens.
And in some way or another, everything falls into place. And the reason I share that today is because I want to debunk some of what we think about having a creative practice. We think it has to look a certain way, namely beautiful or impressive. We think that practice is just about getting perfect at something, and we think that practice is all about getting to a success. But I see it slightly differently. For me, practice really is about building up your self trust muscle. It's about getting to the point where it's no longer scary or intimidating, and it's getting to the point where you know that you're going to be able to pull it out the bag because you've done it so many times before. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I get frustrated when I can't think of anything but.
But apart from I think, two occasions where I really had nothing and I was absolutely exhausted because I've shown up and done it this much, I trust that something will come to me even if I've got no clue what it is. Now, I am not suggesting that you start a daily podcast, and this isn't a rallying cry for taking on a daily project, but what it is is a reminder that your confidence and your self trust are often comes in doing the thing. It comes in showing up, it comes in winging it, it comes in pulling it off at the end and it comes in the form of muscle memory. So if you are not as far ahead as you'd like to be with a particular area of your creativity or a particular skill, chances are highly likely that everything your dream shooter says is absolute bullshit. And maybe you need to put in the reps and enough reps until you firmly know that you can show up and do the damn thing. And the thing about doing it fairly often is that at some point you start to become a bit less bothered by the outcome. Or at least you become a lot less of a perfectionist because it's not all hanging on this one rare time that you sit down to do the thing rather than which involves so much pressure. So this episode is a permission to do it scrappy, to do it imperfect, to show up on a fairly regular basis even if you half arse it, rather than once in a blue moon giving it your all.
And if you want a bonus bit of advice, create a container around it, something that works for you. I know that episodes have to come out by 6am UK time every weekday and I literally don't have time to be a perfectionist unless I want to spend the whole day on it. And if I did I would get seriously annoyed with myself, also seriously resentful of the project and I probably wouldn't do it anyway. So work with yourself and know that constraints can often give us a fair bit of freedom and flexibility. And if you are listening to this and right now it is once in a blue moon that you create or you do the thing and you find it hard to carve out time to see things through, you wish you could do it with a fabulous bunch of like minded women. My new six month coaching program may just be for you. It's called the Women's Creativity Circle. It's all about taking our projects off the Sunday pile.
We get started in May with twice a week making sessions to really carve out time for our projects and to really put in the reps, to put in the practice with some accountability to get us making more and to give us a fuck ton more self trust too. You can find out more by going to the link in the show notes or over to therebelrousers.com/creativitycircle and if you really want to get your projects off the Sunday pile with me in your corner, it is going to work wonders. So check that out if you're interested. Have a good one and and remember that everything changes when you believe you matter. And part of you believing you matter is showing up for yourself. You've done it in the past, you can do it now and it does get easier with time. I'll see you on Monday.
Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io
ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!
New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT
A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!
The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.
Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.
MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!
