Practice makes perfect. Well... it doesn't. But it makes it better than it was when you started!
Unfortunately, when it comes to creative stuff - the process is slow.
Some people, somewhere, are the lucky one in a billion who can create a masterpiece with no practice or preamble. (Lucky so-and-sos.)
Most of us, though?
Nope. No such luck.
We have to put the goddamn work in!
That means that the level of recognition we receive for our achievements is also slow in coming - which is probably not a bad thing.
We grow and evolve as people, allowing our art or whatever to grow and evolve with us.
(It also means that of my 800+ blogposts, relatively few people have read the early ones. Which is good because...they weren't!)
You wouldn't want a global audience to see/hear your school concert, would you?
Nope. That would be uber-embarrassing.
Because we wouldn't've been ready - we wouldn't have been up to the standard we'd want.
Even though we probably thought, at the time, that we were (depending on our confidence levels!)
I realise that it can be as frustrating as hell when we're running up that metaphorical hill and never seem to reach the top.
I have zero patience levels - although I am working on that - so trust me, I get the frustration!
But in the long run, I think it's probably better that we have to do things slowly.
When I was a kid, I thought that if I wasn't published by age 14 I'd have failed.
(Because at 6 years old, 14 was like... the oldest I could think of to start a career. Lol!)
But if one of the things I had written at age 14 had been published...? *cringes*
Yeah. That wouldn't be good.
That's not to say, if you're 14 years old and have written/painted/whatever-ed something amazing you shouldn't go for it!
Hell yeah! Good luck to ya! You might be one of those lucky fully-formed so-and-sos!
But don't let rejection or failure sting too much. It just means it's not ready yet - or the world isn't ready for it.
And if you really love something?
Aim for the best, and expect the worst.
Hope to reach the very tippiest-top, but love that thing with such passion that if nothing ever came from it, you'd still do it.
Have you ever seen people who continue with their passions into later life, but aren't bothered by the lack of fame and recognition?
That's still success, my darling nerdlets.
We just need to remember that.
Do you think creativity takes time to develop? Do you think maintaining your passion counts as success? Talk to me! 😉💬
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Remember to share & comment dearest nerdlets! 💖
Last updated: 14th Oct 2018
Ohhh absolutely! And I relate to that whole "if I'm not published by such-and-such age...I've failed" thing because that was meeee. I HAD to be published before I turned 20. It did not happen. 😂In retrospect I'm really glad because my work needed more time to mature and get better. (Not so for all teen writers, but it was for me!) So I definitely think practise and time help artists sooo much and it's hard not to want success and results NOW, but sometimes we do have to wait. And cry about it a bit. 😂Or maybe that's just me.
ReplyDeleteHa, the argument between the perfectionist side and the impatient side - I know it well! ;)
DeleteOmg Cee this post is coming at literally the best time and you will see why in my post tomorrow! I have just been feeling so drained recently when it comes to writing and nothing I put out seems creative enough. Why do your posts always tell me exactly what I need to hear?!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I shall look out for your post!
DeleteHey, Em, you're awesome - it'll come back to ya! :)
And ha, clearly I'm psychic ;)
Recently read a book called Grit. It’s about how grit and not talent is most important. Many times it’s persistence that pays off. If you love writing, keep writing. For me, it’s about the process and the journey. ❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteYes! Persistence and all that jazz! :) (I just wish I had the patience to match! ;) )
DeleteWell said! And that's something I realized at some point- the creativity is for me as much as anyone, so even if I'm never super successful with it or whatever, the satisfaction is there just for expressing it, putting it out there. So true. Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteAwesome sauce attitude! :)
DeleteAnd thanks! :)
Personal satisfaction has to be the best measure of success I think. I sometimes wonder how many ultra famous people are still actually creating something they love or whether they have to strive to stay on a treadmill
ReplyDeleteHa, you'll have to do a survey and find out! ;)
DeleteUnless you’re a child prodigy, I think it takes a lot of years to be good at any kind of art. I recently saw a girl on Twitter talking about how she’s determined to publish her first novel before she finishes high school. Good luck to her, but I’m betting that she’ll look back at that novel in 15 years and cringe really hard. I’m happy that the website I had in high school is gone. The world does not need the melodramatic crap that teenage-me wrote.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Ha, tbh I think the melodramatic cr*p teenage AJ wrote would be hilarious! I get your point though ;)
DeleteI feel like I used to have more patience to work toward getting good at things, but nowadays I don't lol. I'm like, "WHY AM I NOT GOOD" after like a month. But yeah, it really does take time to build up skills, and I definitely cringe when I look back at certain things, like my writing from when I was 14!
ReplyDeleteI love how everyone in my comments is like, OH GOD, NOT THE TEENAGE WRITING!!! Lol.
DeleteAnd yeah, I have zero patience, so I feel ya! ;)
This is so true. It really does take time for things to build, and you just have to take it day by day. I've learned that with blogging and am still learning it to be honest. Also with writing. Sometimes it's so frustrating getting no where but we just have to hold on for the ride!!
ReplyDeleteSo true! :)
Delete