If you want to create anything, you’ll need self control. Not just the discipline to follow the physical steps, but the self control required to put yourself in the right state of mind for fearless, honest creation. This type of control is about directing the mind, developing the capacity for both honest reflection of where you currently are AND not letting preconceived assumptions hamstring your creative ambition.
Much of our thoughts are rooted in the past, based on things we’ve been told, myths about the way the world works, assumptions about ourselves and our capabilities, limiting beliefs that we’ve accepted as true, and expectations we’ve absorbed from others. That means that creative desires and ideas, when left unchecked, are filtered through these past-rooted patterns of thought. The result, however, is often some reduced version of the goal, a shortchanging of the idea, doubting that the creation matters, doubting our capability to see it through, and other unhelpful assumptions that get in the way of the creative act.
On the other side of the coin, our thought patterns can also create “rose colored glasses” that prevent us from realistically and honestly assessing our current situation. This is shown in opposite, but equally dangerous assumptions. We underestimate the effort required and overestimate the returns. We deny the reality of the market, our current skill level, the complexity of an idea, or the lack of control we have over the outside world.
Both of these are inaccurate modes of thinking, and both require self control to mitigate. Just as creating is bridging the gap between current reality and desired future, so too is this concept a gap between the way the world actually is and the world we create in our minds. The place we’re trying to reach with self control, then, is a balance point.
On one side: clarity about how the world actually is (not an illusion skewed by assumptive optimism or pessimism). On the other: openness to the creative process, unimpeded by negative self-talk, motivated by curiosity and purpose, not a selfish desire for outcomes or accolades.
So, the question is how do we develop this kind of self control?
In physics, energy follows the path of least resistance, and this path creates/follows a structure. Our thoughts flow in the same way, connecting via synapse along a structure of least resistance – that is, the mental pathways we’ve used time and time again. To change the structure, we must adjust the path by adding new thoughts or omitting old ones, one piece at a time.
This begins with recognizing the structures for what they are. Even if they can’t be changed, acknowledging them is the first step toward moving through them consciously, not automatically. In this process, you’ll begin to see the ways your thoughts betray you – the way assumptions, knee-jerk reactions, and automatic modes of thinking get between you and seeing reality as it truly is.
And from this realization, something interesting is likely to emerge… You’ll see how many of these impeding thought patterns have the same focus: you.
We tend to filter everything through our own experience, and this bias colors the way we see the world. So then, a major step of this self control is taking ourselves out of the picture – or rather, our concept of self that gets caught up in expectations, outcomes, identity, embarrassment, and all of the other human things that get in the way of unbridled creativity.
• “Am I good enough?”
• “Is this what I should be creating?”
• “What will others think?”
• “Am I ready?”
• “What if it doesn’t work?”
All of these questions are irrelevant to the creative process. They are all focused on YOU not the creation. They are all reasons to hesitate, to put off the work, and if nothing else, they siphon attention away from creating. When we put our attention on obstacles, we create even more obstacles.
The self control you should be pursuing is ultimately the process of removing yourself from the equation. Instead of filtering your creative ideas and desires through your identity and perceptions about the way others think of you, set them free by getting out of the way. You’ll then be able to work on a creation for its own sake, guided by its energy and letting it unfold as it’s meant to.
You don’t need to fix yourself first, or truly know who you are, or make sweeping changes before you get down to creative work. None of those things matter, and thinking about them will only get in the way of creation.
The creative act is the path, and everything else is an impediment to the path. Self control – and with it, mental control – is all about removing those obstacles so you can do what truly matters most.
