"There is this illusion that somehow
you can get to a stable place, figure it all out."
In a recent article in Fast Company magazine, Pixar President Ed Catmull points out, "The underlying technology continues to change, successful people are always getting older and aging out, and everyone is drawing new conclusions about what works. There is no stable place. But there is this illusion that somehow you can get to a stable place, figure it all out.
People have their fear: they want to be told what to do; they want people to tell them what to do. And there isn't anything that can remove that underlying piece of human nature. It is when we try to avoid, stop, or control change that we get into trouble."
I think that creative people are less inclined to want to be told what to do, and less resistant to change, but we still have the underlying fear. The difference is that--at least on good days--we move forward despite the fear.
On the bad days, when the fear seems to be the one in control, it's good to remind ourselves that there are no victories from giving in to it. I haven't figure out how to avoid the bad days (in fact, I had one very recently), but at least I've learned that one day like that doesn't mean all days will be like that. Maybe that's about as much control as we're likely to get.
(For useful methods for getting into a creative mindset, generating ideas, and turning ideas into action, get a copy of my book, Creativity Now, published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)
