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Being Ready vs Being Curious: Which Approach to Take?
Being ready and being curious are two different creative perspectives.
Confronting both concepts made me think about my friend Silvia. She wanted to be a writer.
Wherever she went, she always had a book in her hands. Additionally, she also had a pocket dictionary to look up any new word she stumbled upon. Silvia wanted to fully understand the content she was consuming to the last bit.
Silvia’s dedication to reading and endless curiosity for words was unparalleled. The most impressive part? When she wrote his own stories, she sounded like a seasoned author. Her structure was flawless, and her vocabulary was out of this world. She could have gotten herself a book deal whenever she wanted.
I’ve lost contact with her, so I don’t know what she decided for her writing career. I really hope she’s living her dream.
However, even when it seemed that she had everything to stand out in the writing world, I remember hearing her say this dreadful phrase from time to time:
“I’m not ready because I need more experience”.
How many times have you heard that statement from friends or colleagues? How many times have you caught yourself saying those same words?
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You Don’t Have to Start Quickly
First of all, happy new year!
May you have a wonderful 2025 full of great experiences. May you accomplish all you have planned for yourself in the next 12 months.
Whether you are full of energy or not, here’s an interesting approach to consider as you take the first few steps into your goals/resolutions:
Austin Kleon always has a great perspective on beginnings.
Remember: you can go slowly and still reach your goals.
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Wrap-up: 20 things that made my 2024
Every year is unique, and that’s such a beautiful thing. You never know what will come your way. Isn’t it great that you discover new interests out of “randomness”? Isn’t it wonderful that you also get to celebrate milestones? All events, no matter how big or small, are worth noting.
Every discovery, every win, reveals a piece of our journey in life.
Here’s my traditional list of 20 things that made my year.
- Celebrating my son’s milestones as a toddler
- Completing 200 pages of my new book
- Visiting Spokane for the first time
- Visiting Barnes & Noble for the first time
- Switching to Threads
- Reading “A Radical Awakening” by Dr. Shefali
- Reading “The Power of Now” by Ekhart Tolle
- Reading “Aura” by Carlos Fuentes
- Discovering binaural beats
- Enjoying a great meal at Major Tom
- Trying a baked Alaska for the first time
- Bashar
- Discovering bandcamp and getting into vaporwave music
- FM Skyline
- Jared Pike’s dream pools
- Music inspired by dream pools
- Liminal spaces
- The pleasure of reading Long Reads
- Rick Rubin’s podcast
- Having meaningful conversations with Meta AI assistant on Instagram
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Creative Fears: What if People Criticize Me?
One of my creative fears as a writer was being criticized.
I used to doubt my storytelling skills. I thought that, as soon as I hit the “publish” button, I would receive comments at how “meh” my plot and characters were. As I was getting ready to release Kaleidoscope Eyes, my first novella, I feared I’d only get one-star reviews.
Truth is, this is my current rating:
In the age of rates and reviews, I’ve learned that remaining true to my calling is what matters the most. I’m writing, I’m sharing, and I’m constantly improving. Even while experiencing all kinds of fears, I decided to put my novella out there. I was aware that some people would like it, and others not so much.
So how do you deal with that fear of criticism? In my experience, there’s no step-by-step formula. However, if I could mention one thing that has been useful for me, that would be a mindset shift: let reviewers tell what they want to say, either positive or negative. Let them be. Having a piece of work in the public eye involves getting all sorts of comments. That’s inevitable.
Ask yourself is their feedback is useful to you in any way. If so, then implement them in your next pieces of work.
External opinions are out of your control. All you can do is staying committed to deliver your best work possible every time you share/publish online or in any other format.
Dare to be disliked. Your work is not for everyone, and that’s okay.
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Being Seen
There comes a time when you need to share your creations. It all might start as a private endeavour, but eventually, you just know that they need their own space to keep growing.
You might be uncomfortable with the idea of being seen. You might feel like you need more experience or practice. Or even popularity.
Never underestimate the power of showing up a little bit at a time. Whether you show your face or record your own voice, it all compounds to a greater purpose: sharing your unique vision with an audience.
The world needs you.
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Your Best Hours of the Day
This prompt reminded me of my teen years.
I used to tell my mom that there were specific times when certain moods took place.
- At 11 am I tended to be aggravated
- At 1 pm I got hungry
- At 5 pm I felt at my best and was willing to talk to anyone about anything
My statements made her giggle.
Now that James Clear mentions it, I believe there’s great value in spotting your best hours of the day. Asking yourself whether you’re a morning person or a late night owl is also a good starting point.
So what can we do at those times?
Maybe write a few lines on a journal.
Maybe reply to emails with a more polite tone.
Maybe going out for a walk.
Maybe starting a new book.
Possibilities are infinite. The point is making the most of it in a way that makes you feel you’re exploring your best potential in that very moment.
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When Your Creative Intuition Says Make it Anyway
What if you followed your creative intuition wherever it led you? Imagine if you did so fearlessly and without overthinking your every step.
An aspect of the creative process involves dealing with self-doubt. “What if I fail?” “What if this doesn’t make me any money?” In an attempt to make those questions go away, it’s common to talk to peers or mentors and seek their approval. While this action in itself is alright, it’s also important to validate your own voice and instincts. Otherwise, it’s someone else deciding your next moves.
Even after getting feedback, the doubts are still there. “What if what I’m creating is irrelevant on social media?” “What if no one interacts with my content?” There’s that need for external validation again.
It happens to me too.
As an author, I keep an eye on newly released books. I can’t help but notice that there are some genres that get more attention than others. Sometimes I wonder if it’d be a “safer” bet to embrace one of those hot genres and see how that goes. My struggle sounds like this:
“Wow, other authors are making it big in that genre. Should I go for it too? Nobody else seems to be writing in the genre I do. Would switching to popular trends be beneficial? I could also get more engagement on social media. But still…I’m not so sure.”
It’s exactly in the middle of that inner debate that creative intuition kicks in. That’s when I need to be real and ask myself: “does this genre truly align with the type of story I want to tell?” Most of the time, I find that I’m more excited to work on a book idea that wouldn’t fit into any of the popular trends.
When doubts get the worst out of you, I want you to remember that…
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Intuition is Non-Negotiable
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Herb Alpert al Son del Mariachi
Hace unos días descubrí esta joya musical y quedé impactada.
Es increíble cómo diferentes géneros hablan entre sí.
No sé qué tenga la música de Herb Alpert. Noto que en los últimos meses me ha hablado directo al alma. Gustosa, he respondido al llamado y me dejo llevar por las notas que me transportan a lugares y sensaciones que debía recordar.
Por cierto, “Route 101” es mi canción favorita.
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Stay Away from Whatever Stops You
Comfort is an addiction.
Easy is an addiction.
“Later” is an addiction.
Doomscrolling is an addiction.
Grabbing your phone while taking breaks is an addiction.
Stay away from whatever stops you.
Let’s break the cycle today.
