Doing The Work When No One Is Watching
From my daily blog
As a creative person in the early days of your career, no one is watching what you are doing. No one cares about the things you produce. No one cares about the things you are saying. You are on your own in that journey.
This initial time can be frustrating. You feel the inner resistance creeping up on you over, and over again. Why not just stop? No one is going to care anyway. Quitting is easy, persisting is hard. Unfortunately, many quit.
But something magical happens if you persist. If you trust your self. If you keep doing the work even though no one is watching. Those are the transformative years where you find your own voice. Those are the years where you learn about your genuine intention for creating in the first place. There is no shortcut to skipping those years. You just need to create, create some more, and create.
Ironically, many talented people quit, even though this journey would’ve been ideal for them. It’s like a test you need to pass. The test of how serious you are about your creative ambitions. It’s like the law of self-actualization. Only if you are creating for the sake of creating, do you have what it takes to persist the years when no one is watching. Only pure intentions will get you through those years. If that’s not you, quitting will be inevitable. And that’s okay. In the end, it’s about finding your true self, and not the self others expect of you. So the law of self-actualization is the hardest and most honest test you will ever face. Will you pass it? There’s only one way to find out.
