(3 minute read)
Hello everybody,
This is an experiment.
I have been getting many messages from people saying they miss the weekly newsletter.
And, frankly, I miss writing it.
But we only have limited dopamine juice, right?
So, I figured I would experiment with some shorter-form written content to provide you with value (hopefully) and me with a process to articulate my thoughts and synthesise ideas without creatively burning out (hopefully).
Let’s see how it goes. 😁👊
This TikTok video 👆 is about surrendering from the illusion of control.
Many things throttle our creativity, but they are primarily rooted in trying to control outcomes.
➡️ Trying to create the perfect thing
➡️ Trying to second-guess what the audience wants.
➡️ Trying to control how the audience feels about our work.
Why is this important?
Whatever creative projects or entrepreneurial dreams you harbour, you need to build an audience.
In short, many of us get stuck people-pleasing with our creativity.
The reality is we are not in control of any of that.
And by trying to control everything, we trigger self-sabotaging patterns that fuck up our work.
It’s Alan Watt’s backwards law: the harder we try to create perfection the more we fuck it up by overthinking the shit out of it.
This is all happens in our head.
In elite sports, they often refer to this as Self-1
When our overthinking brains (self-1 ) are trying to control everything, it creates all these kinds of overthinking nasties 👇
This is well-known in elite sports.
The best coaches in the world know this, which is why there are so many cliches in sports.
“We only take one game (or race) at a time.”
“ Focus on your performance levels, and the results will take care of themselves.”
“ Focus on controlling the controllables, ignore the rest”
They’re clichè because they’re repeatedly used in every press conference, at every training session, and in every sport to remove the pressure from the athletes.
This helps the athletes get out of their heads (Self-1)
This allows elite athletes to focus on Self-2 👇
Peak athletic performance comes from getting the athletes out of their heads (Self-1) and into the zone (Self-2)
When athletes stop trying to perform perfectly in their heads and surrender to flow state, they achieve peak performance by disengaging their thinking.
Peak creative performance comes from getting the artists or creators out of their heads ( Self 1) and into a flow state ( self 2)
Here’s some tips:
Rick Rubin meditates before he creates. If you can do that, then great!
I struggle without guided meditation, so I do box breathing ( google it), which calms my nervous system before creating.
Every time you find yourself stuck in self-sabotaging overthinking loops, “thought stop.”
Close your eyes.
Imagine and hand in your head ✋
Shout stop…in your head.
This breaks the overthinking loop.
Then, repeat “stay in the present” a few times.
A flow state can only be entered in the present.
I watched a Rodger Federer interview over a decade ago about how he used this mindset technique to go from an impulsive tennis brat to a calm, controlled world champion.
I used it with artists in the music industry.
It worked!
To be honest, I don’t use this much myself anymore.
I feel pretty comfortable with my creativity these days, but this was crucial when I was learning to overcome my fear of being seen.
Fears and insecurities live rent-free in our heads.
We need to learn to control them or they control us.
If you can overcome your fear of being seen, you can pretty much do anything.
The ability to authentically express ourselves and connect with others without the need to please the invisible audience is creatively and emotionally liberating.
You can do pretty much anything once you overcome the fear of being seen.
You may need support and accountability.
Overcoming the fear of being seen will literally change your career.
If you want to get unstuck, get creative and business clarity, and overcome the fear of being seen, you can book a session or buy a course here
Condimaniacs
Condimaniacs is co-owned by Keir, a long-term reader.
He is the lead singer of a successful band, has published a book, has been on a BBC TV cooking reality show with Gordon Ramsey, and now his Condimaniacs brand is blowing up on TikTok big time.
I bought some, and they kick ass — literally!
I highly recommend it. You can check out their stuff here.
And their TikTok here
This isn’t a sponsored post btw…I love seeing creatively talented multipotentialites experiment with their curiosity and share their ideas 💡
"The ability to authentically express ourselves and connect with others without the need to please the invisible audience is creatively and emotionally liberating." ..... this, hard to do, but I have a deep yearning to do this. Love the "thought stop" will try this.