Why Creativity is NOT Risky Business
Deciding to be follow your creative instincts can feel risky.
How many times have people asked you what your Plan B is? How many times have you thought to yourself, “Should I really being pursuing something so unstable?”
And it’s true, creativity comes with a lot of unknowns. You may not know for certain when your next job is coming, if your networking is paying off or even if your work is any good. Everything is subjective and most careers don’t follow a logical progression. To a certain degree it’s chaotic and spontaneous.
The truth of the matter is, the more you create, the more certainty you discover. When you keep putting the pen to the paper, or showing up at the studio to work on your solo, or practicing your signature dish until it’s exactly right, you’ll find more stability in your work.
The more you push out of your comfort zone, the more you will expand what’s comfortable and easy. As you grow in your craft and skill, the act of creativity as a whole becomes more easily navigated.
So why does it still feel so risky? Why is it that even as you get better at your craft, even as there is more certainty in your process and your work, there still remains an element of mystery and unknown?
Creatives, if they’re showing up to be seen, are living on the edge of what’s new.
You leave the comfort of the crowd to discover your own identity. It feels like a risk because the more you push your comfort zone to grow, the more unique you become to the rest of the world.
The risk is in your authenticity.
When you fearlessly commit yourself to pursuing your craft, there are plenty of questions, but you’re the one who begins to answer those questions as you go.
To create self-awareness in your work, you push yourself outside of your comfort zone, collaborate with other artists, start connecting with your audience and more.
Sometimes things go very right, but when they go wrong, being open to learning as you go lets you see opportunity in everything. Staying grounded and genuine in your pursuit and growing into a greater version of yourself all comes through reflection and constant learning.
In other words, your constant dedication to your craft creates your deepening sense of authenticity.
A huge risk of being a creative is the vulnerability that happens when you bare yourself to the world.
You can bypass the instability of finances with a day job.
Not knowing if your work is any good can be resolved by collaborating and getting someone else’s trusted point of view.
Even the inner angst of working for someone else’s vision can be soothed when making your own work.
At every step you have the power to make your creative life a certainty.
But what is scary is opening our true selves up to the world. Playing in the big leagues, going for more, letting our authenticity out is what frightens a creative the most.
So many people who haven’t tapped into their innate creativity miss this opportunity. They don’t show the world their identity, creative or otherwise, and simply play the part that’s expected. That isn’t a risk.
You’re a creative. You face the risk and decide it’s not such a big deal.
Take a look at your work and be honest: are you fully showing up and making choices that really support what you believe to be true about life? Are you playing at your largest capacity? Are you going after the thing you really want?
If the answer is no, it’s time to take a deep breath and take one step in a new direction. See what happens if you play bigger. Notice how you feel when you let yourself really and honestly be seen through your work. Resist playing it safe.
And if you are already showing up to be seen, keeping your channels open and authentic and creating at your largest capacity, thank you. You’re giving everyone else permission to do the same.
