Prioritize Creativity by Minimizing “Detours”: Where True Fulfillment Can ACTUALLY Be Found

Being an Artist in this modern world is akin to being a samurai, or a warrior of some sort. Distractions are more rampant than they have ever been, what with the demands of social media, and society in general. The problem is that many of these demands are necessary, such as money-making or other survival-related activities. But as necessary as they are, they have nothing to do with the actual making of Art.

This summer has been an interesting one for me. As I write this, I’m sitting in a café in Juneau, Alaska, having just finished an eggs Benedict breakfast and trying to determine the best way to spend my limited time on land before boarding the cruise ship that has been my home for the past three and a half weeks.

I didn’t expect to be in Alaska at the start of the summer, nor did I expect to be on a cruise ship. But circumstances change, the wind blows a new way, and suddenly, as a freelancer, one finds oneself on a totally new and unexpected course. All for the purposes of survival, of course.

From the outside, one might look at my crazy life and say, “Wow! What an adventure! You must really be living the dream,” but what most don’t realize (and how can I blame them?) is that, I’m really just doing what I need to do.

It’s true, I did sign up for this, in a way, by choosing to pursue this life of gigs and residencies and short-term agreements. But that’s only because I found out that I am unemployable – at least, by traditional standards. I found out that a full-time “job”, one where I clock in, follow instructions, and clock out, is next to impossible for me. I realized that, when given a choice between the latter, and whichever opportunity presents itself where I can sit there and sing and play the piano, I am going to end up going with the sitting and singing and playing the piano. Even when I try to resist it.

There are lots of reasons for this. And I’m not saying that one can’t be an Artist with a full-time job. No, not at all. Some may prefer the full-time job, or a couple of part-time jobs. Some may do the freelance thing, like I’ve been. Hell, some may even collect unemployment or disability. And you know what I say?

If it helps you create your Art, more power to you.

That should be the goal. That should be what all of this shit is for. To get to a point where we can freely Create.

Of course, an Adventure for the sake of an Adventure – there is nothing wrong with that. But there is a fine line between an adventure and a Detour.

In my own case, I found that being tired is my number one obstacle to creative work. And funny enough, when I’m tired, that’s when I’m most likely to go on detours. My number one worst detour is watching movies late at night when I should be reading or sleeping. There have been studies that show how bad screen exposure is for sleep, hormone levels, and general health. It’s also bad for having energy to Create the next day.

Why is having energy to Create so important? Well, for one thing, we all have an urge to create something, whether we know it or not. We’re born with the ability. Even when we’re not trying, we’re creating all the time. We’re creating experiences, perspectives, opinions. Why not channel that innate ability into something to be shared with the world?

Well, there are a lot of things that keep us from fully expressing that ability. For one, we might be tired at the end of a long work day. We might rather watch a movie (if you’re like me!) or link up with friends at the bar. We might just simply not be feeling it. We might have not discovered our own unique ability yet, so we might look at others’ and envy them, thinking that they are on some higher plane, when in fact, they are just in touch with something we are not – yet.

There might be 1001 reasons why we’re not getting down to business. Why we’re not realizing what truly matters. Why days, months, and years go by and we still feel a gnawing incompleteness, a hollow ache somewhere in the soul that we can’t quite put a finger on. We just know it’s still there.

So what can we do? Is it an option to just continue as we have been, to accept discouragement as the default, to do what is necessary to survive, to file our taxes, to apply for health insurance, to pay off our debt, and then call it “well enough” at the end of the day?

Luckily, if you’re reading this, it is not. You want something more out of life, even if you can’t quite pinpoint what it is. You want to be more of who you know you can be, more of who you really are. You’re tired of fucking around. You want to be more than just an obedient cog in the machine.

So, I’m going to give you the answer. Here it is. Are you ready? Create. Something. Anything. Remember what you liked as a kid. Maybe you liked to play chess, imagine epic stories, or play the drums. Rediscover your propensity. Then create from that place.

But don’t just do it once. Do it tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. Do it every day. Don’t miss a day. Of course, you will miss a day here and there – we all do. But just get back on it the next day.

At this point, protestations may arise. “Time” is usually the main one, and understandably so. Okay, so create for five minutes. Five minutes. If you don’t have five minutes, you may want to re-evaluate other things in your life than just that hollowness in your soul.

Create. Every day.

That’s it.