It’s comforting to have some neat charts. Easy to fill boxes. Using models that make us think we’re right. But that doesn’t always set a reliable road for what we do.
Our work (especially creative work) is random and chaotic. Getting used to patterns or depending on the same ways makes space for complacency — something we’re better off without.
At the end of the day, we seek not order but exploration. Although we strive for stability, we need to appreciate the fact that strategy and creativity are random things.
Randomness is good
We’re bland when we’re stagnant, hence we need to keep pedaling and imagining to preserve our mettle. We can’t afford to stick to the shore for too long as we’d be boring and stuck otherwise.
Sure, we have a bedrock of philosophies crafted by the GOATs. Thanks to the folks who plucked their thoughts and set them in ink. They made our jobs easier by creating new ways. It works most of the time, especially when we’re lost.
But in spite of all the good that happens, we need to remember that we weren’t meant to follow trials in the first place. There’s no holy process either.
I remind myself about this while doing the little stuff I get to contribute to. Or in the work that I do to learn my craft.
Once I sat at the bus stand and began jotting stuff that I observed in my notebook. I started studying Haiku for the sake of brevity. I read song lyrics to understand the language better.
If I can’t do anything revolutionary as a beginner, I can play my part and be honest with my work at least. While this might seem irrelevant, the fact is that whatever we do becomes a part of our work and it affects it. Our work is who we are.
We start from scratch each day. We can get our answers from anywhere. We’re free to do what we set out to do but do it differently.
Here’s the bottom line
We’re in the creative industry — and we wouldn’t be creative if all we had to do was filling some blank spaces. It doesn’t hurt to step out a little beyond the boundaries each day.
Are we even trying?
The question is on the screen and the answer is within you.