comfort

Comfort, Habits and Art

We're more likely to form habits when we're comfortable, when the first step is obvious and manageable. Practicing guitar is more likely to occur if the instrument is kept in plain sight and within reach. We're more likely to improve our coding skills if the computer is accessible, and we commit to opening the web browser. Habits, both good and bad, are formed with small, manageable steps, not giant leaps.

Creativity, on the other hand, comes from discomfort. The art of crafting something and delivering it in a meaningful way doesn't come from comfort. It comes from the hard work of making the decision to show our work and from the persistence, practice and effort necessary to create something worth talking about. The responsibility of the artist is to create something from nothing, without a script. And this comes only from discomfort. The artist is comfortable with discomfort, in fact seeks it...is lost without it. The guitar is placed out of reach to force a challenge...to go somewhere new.

Use comfort to do the work. Use discomfort to create art. Choose wisely.

Comfort and Creativity

…don’t mix well. 

Creativity, or a lack thereof, has nothing to do with ability…being born with talent. It has everything to do with developing habits and skills by showing up and doing the work. And part of the work a creative employs is discomfort. Sometimes this comes through the rigor necessary to ship work. But it also comes from putting herself into unscripted, unexpected situations forcing an unplanned response, i.e., the creative act. Doing this over and over builds the creative skill and eventually leads to being comfortable with discomfort, even to the point of seeking it out. 

Creativity isn’t reserved for some special group of talented artists. It’s for anyone who dares to innovate and lead change, and then chooses to do the work necessary to bring the ideas from concept to reality. Of course, it might not work…but that’s the risk and discomfort which comes with being creative. Otherwise, it’s just a thought.

Making something from scratch and in the moment is one of the most generous things we get to do…if we choose to. Choose wisely.