The process of creating and building is the best teacher.
I recently made a painting after a while and the process taught me some invaluable lessons about the process of creating stuff and about life in general.
1. The process isn’t pretty
If you’ve ever tried painting or creating anything, you’d know that the process isn’t pretty.
I came across this reel on Instagram that really resonated with me. The artist said that she absolutely hated creating reels for social media. Because reels are supposed to be short, look satisfying and hook the viewer. Or they’ll just swipe and move on to the next video.
But the process of painting is not satisfying every step of the way. It’s messy. And while she enjoys painting with all its messiness, the pressure of creating reels sucks out the pleasure.
Just like that, life and the process of creating anything is not pretty every step of the way.
When listening to someone’s stories and experiences, you might say, ‘Oh wow! This person has lived an interesting life!’. But it’s that gist of that one story you’re judging. Not the smaller pieces.
2. Even if 2 people follow the same process, the outcome is never same
I made this painting following a tutorial. But my outcome is very different from the artist’s. We followed the exact same process but the outcome was not the same.
Some factors that could have led to that:
- The kind of paint
- Experience. Obviously the artist has more experience with acrylic painting than I do
- The quality of the base
Similarly, even if 2 people follow the same process in life, their journey would be different. Even if they grew up in the same home, went to the same school, studied the same things, their experiences are never the same.
The only thing you can do, is just be you. Never try to duplicate someone else’s process or lifestyle. Build your own.
3. You need to allow yourself the freedom to make mistakes
When you’re painting, you cannot erase the paint that you’ve used. But that shouldn’t stop you from painting.
You will only be able to create something if you give yourself the space and freedom to make mistakes and forgive yourself for making those mistakes. If you keep telling yourself, ‘I must not make this mistake’, you won’t be able to take the chances and step outside of your comfort zone.
The opportunity cost being wrong and failing is less than the cost of not creating or trying.
The fear of making mistakes leads to inertia and stops you from doing. But it’s better to take action and make those mistakes than not taking action at all.
4. You can’t compare your first step to someone else’s 100
When you’re creating something, anything, it’s natural to start comparing yourself with others.
But when you start comparing your day 1 to someone’s day 100 or even day 1480, it goes downhill. Why? Because that kind of comparison is toxic. You might even stop creating.
Often I’m writing or painting, I find myself comparing my progress with someone who has been at it for way longer than I have.
Compare your progress with yourself 1 year ago. Or even 6 months ago.
The only secret is to not stop. To keep creating, being consistent and disciplined.
5. Monitor your self talk
Whenever I speak kindly to myself while painting and allow myself the freedom to make mistakes, the painting turns out much better. And I’d enjoy the process much more.
On the other hand, when my internal monologue is negative (‘this looks terrible/ I’m a bad painter/ I messed up here’) the painting would not look good and I wouldn’t’ve enjoyed the time spent creating.
It is extremely important to constantly monitor how you talk to yourself. Be mindful and whenever you feel like you’re talking to yourself in a way that is not kind, change your words. Please don’t be harsh on yourself.
6. You don’t need to worry as much as you do
While painting, I often find myself worrying about the outcome or the paint drying up.
We have a tendency to worry too much about things. Some of these things are within our control and some things are not.
Whenever you find yourself worrying incessantly, it is important to consciously change your thoughts. You can do this by reasoning it our logically, having faith, by being curious or by simply being kind to yourself.
For example, whenever I find myself worrying about the outcome, I consciously change my thought to ‘I’m curious to see what this will look like’ or ‘It’s not supposed to look perfect. As long as I’m enjoying the process, it is enough.’
On illustration that always helps me:
7. It’s never perfect
It can never be perfect. Nothing can be perfect. Not even nature. It’s not supposed to be. Because what is perfect?
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Thank you for reading!
