The Uncertain Creative

Society expects us to decide definitively what we want to do with our lives by the time we leave school, or university.

But being a ‘Clear-Minded Creative’ doesn’t mean you know exactly what you’re doing. That wouldn’t be very interesting!

It means you accept that you may never know – but that you keep trying and experimenting anyway.

Shifting Sands

The sands are shifting under our feet.

It often feels like I’m feeling my way through this life like a blind man (and not only when I can’t find my glasses). Experimentation can hurt sometimes. Only when I bump against something new will I know if it’s sharp, heavy, or soft.

Perhaps some people just aren’t meant to know. Aren’t meant to see the path laid out in front of them.

The Rules Have Changed

I used to want to be a journalist, a musician, a novelist. I’ve had a go at two out of the three, so far (with varying results). Now I’ve moved onto something I never imagined I’d be doing – building a business.

But the rules have changed, and they continue to change. Maybe we don’t have to choose one thing and stick to it. Maybe our job title hasn’t even been invented yet?

A decade ago we didn’t hear much about multi-media content creators, content strategists, pro-bloggers, social reporters, or prosperous self-published novelists.

So how can we choose ‘what to be’ when the goal posts keep moving?

Maybe we can’t, not entirely. But we can commit to persevering, to following our hearts/gut instincts, and to fighting for our own creative independence.

We can put the work in so we get clarity about ourselves. About our likes, our dislikes, our predilections. What makes us shine, what makes us thrive, what surroundings, people and situations make us feel most alive, and which ones shut us down.

‘Growing Up’ is Overrated

Is it normal not to know what you want to do when you grow up, when you’ve grown up? When you’re 35, 45, 55, 65?

Yes, if you’re doing something innovative, something unconventional. Something that matters.

Because if we’re forging a path that no-one else has walked before us, uncertainty is all we know for sure. Uncertainty is all we can be certain of.

Further Reading:

Jonathan Fields has written an entire book on Uncertainty that provides useful advice on how to survive and thrive whilst forging your own path in life.

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This is Part 3 in the Refresh Your Mindset Series.

Part 1: New Year, New Mindset

Part 2: 8 Habits That Will Help You Refresh Your Mindset

Subscribe to get the full guide as a PDF.

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