I chose this title because of the dichotomy of these words; Creative and Grind. One of them should bring about curiosity, playfulness, exploration, free-form experimentation and freedom. The other, a repetitious act of trudging through a task – more times than not, begrudgingly – in order to gain a desired outcome.
They seem to be at opposite sides of the spectrum. Yet, sometimes we can view our creativity as such. When I resist the act of creating, I believe it comes from having the wrong expectations. I’m a bit obsessive and a control-freak or whatever other word applies to someone who goes into a situation with – much of the time – unrealistically high expectations of the results.
However, having that attitude is most contrary to entire creative process. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is real value to “the grind” and here is how I would define it today: Showing up daily to put in a full effort in order to accomplish a desired goal or outcome regardless of how you feel about sitting down and doing the work. And yes, baked into that grind is a discipline that brings you back to that same desk day after day.
This seems to be one of the key lynch pins for me as I stack these creative bricks one at a time. Or another way of saying it, is climbing the grand staircase one step at a time. And yes, that one step can seem so simple . . . we skip it. However, after keeping your nose down day after day and stringing these daily wins together for a decent amount of time, you might just lift your head and see how far you’ve come – one step at a time.
This is progress.