Do You Fear Looking Foolish?

Chuck issued a challenge to create three new pieces of visual, video or audio  content every day and I haven’t stopped thinking about it.

I loved the post and his comment that creativity is more than just a matter of talent because I agree and because it made me think about my creativity.

It reminded me about how I haven’t done as much to exercise the creative side as I normally do and I suspect some of it is because I have let my fear hide behind excuses about not having time or being stressed out.

No One Wants To Be The Fool

Creativity requires losing our fear of failure and or looking foolish. How many times have you had an idea you didn’t follow up on because you were afraid that people would think it was stupid?

My guess is most of us have multiple examples of this both personally and professionally. Some of our ideas probably are stupid, improbable, impossible and unlikely to succeed.

But there are others that aren’t.

There are others that fall into the same place trips to the moon and smartphones did. There are people who are willing to push the limits and to sail a ship around the world because they know it is not flat.

I don’t know about you but I think the difference between them and everyone else is a willingness to risk looking foolish.

Writing Requires A Suspension of Fear

Those of us who write fiction have to confront our fears about it or risk never finding out if we really have the ability we think we do. We have to stop worrying about whether people will hate, like or love our work and just write.

It is something I have been thinking about often because I haven’t written as many stories as I used to.

Some of it is because I haven’t had the motivation to take what I see inside my head and put it on paper and some of it is fear. That is sort of unusual for me because most of the time I really don’t care if people like what I write. Some will and some won’t, that is how it is with every writer.

There are people that love Mark Twain and people that hate him, why should it be different for me.

Dad Is A Role Model

I can’t serve as a good role model unless I am willing to do the same things I teach my children to do. Can’t be an advocate without getting my hands dirty and it is time that I do so again.

Time to say screw it and just put the pen to paper because without risk there is no reward. I always say I want to live my dreams and not dream my life…

Or maybe it is more accurate to say I want to take the Cave Johnson approach to life. When life gives you lemons, what do you do?

Love that.