Dear Creative
Originally written on January 26, 2022
Dear creative:
You’re allowed to do less.
You’re allowed to not be on camera when you don’t want to be.
You’re allowed to repost old stuff or not post anything at all.
You’re allowed to focus on the aspects of this work that you CAN do with the capacity you have.
You’re allowed to give energy to what you can give energy to and shake off the rest.
You might grow more slowly, you might not go viral as much, and you might not be able to keep up with every trend, but you WILL see that by focusing on what gives you energy and not what drains you, you'll be able to create at a mindful, sustainable pace.
As a creator who shares a lot and does creative work full time in a variety of ways, the ONLY way I can do any of this is by being absolutely relentless about preserving my energy. I will only do what I can do and I must shake off the rest.
Here’s an example: this very post is written in text. It’s not a short video with my face in it — the very thing that's proven to get more engagement. I am willing to less engagement because I know I must honor my capacity. Sometimes I'm on video. A lot of times I'm not. That's okay.
Being creative fills me with joy and peace but I can only sustain it by being unapologetic about my capacity. I almost NEVER share what I make in real-time because I don't have the capacity to be a creator, documentarian, curator, and publisher in the same breath.
For instance, so much of what I've shared lately was made over a year ago and it's my 2nd or 3rd time sharing it and I don't feel bad. It's not less-than. It's not "phoning it in." It's honoring my capacity. It's choosing not to put this expectation on myself to go above and beyond each day.
I get asked a lot about burnout and here's what I've learned:
A lot of times my burnout comes from me trying to burn too brightly for stuff that wasn't right for me in the first place.
To my creative friends:
Get to know yourself.
Preserve your energy.
Do what you can do and don't worry about the rest (even if it's trending or popular).
Figure out what you want to do more and what you want to do less of.
You're allowed to pace yourself.
MHN