Second guessing

Think about the cognitive load involved in constantly monitoring your body language, your tone of voice, your cultural references and your humour. Running a constant background calculation:
“Is this safe to say?”
“Will this make me stand out?”
“Will this mark me as ‘other’?”

That constant monitoring takes both mental and emotional energy. Energy that could otherwise be used to contribute, collaborate, solve problems, build relationships, be creative or simply do your job. Instead, it is spent managing how you are perceived. You are no longer simply participating in the environment, you are performing belonging. Contact me via this link for a complimentary discovery session.

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Unnecessarily delaying

Procrastination is often a response to fear, and acknowledging fear can be challenging. Yet fear plays a role in almost every meaningful endeavour. I believe that no one creates work of real value without experiencing both self-doubt and self-belief. Self-doubt keeps us alert, reflective, and committed to improving. Self-belief gives us the courage to act, persist, and take risks. Progress requires the presence of both.

““Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination. When you fall into the funk of competition, think of literature, think of the early bloomers and the late bloomers. Think of the very many experimental novels that do not follow the traditional form. Your story does not have to have a traditional arc.””

— Mary Oliver

I think Mary Oliver’s beautifully expressed words remind us that growth does not follow a single path, and neither does creativity. Your work, your pace, and your process are allowed to be your own.

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