Beware of Creative Treadmills : Distinguishing Movement from Progress
A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work. Success, therefore, isn't an accident but a result of rigorous preparation. A lot of people in this process adapt the mindset of practicing 'tunnel vision', an act of ignoring anything outside of the task at hand & removing the ability to get distracted by outside interests. In the process of creating and pushing towards your dream, it is instead easy to get distracted by the perception of our feet always in motion and be blinded by the fact that we aren't actually getting closer to our goals. How do we then prevent this creative stagnancy while remaining focused on our intended goal? I'm finding that the answer is a lot more complex than I was taught growing up.
One of the most important steps in developing this discipline can actually seem counter-intuitive but is just as vital as any, 'remember to breathe'. This year I have learned so much about myself, most importantly how essential it is to take mental breaks. Being an analytical empath can take its toll on your mental outlook and if it isn’t nurtured properly, can cause increased stress levels. The problem is that most people, as a result of stress, get bogged down in their own negative ego by focusing on what is going wrong and lose sight of reality. The reality is always more on the side of positive progress than it is of stagnancy; learning to take a break, step away from your own process and embracing the world around you allows your mind to remain grounded. Most people worry that taking a break will be a waste of time but the time wasted by falling victim to our negative ego is much greater than that of taking regular mental breaks to recoup. I’m big on efficiency these days, so this space ironically allows me to regain control by actually letting myself free of it.
Another important step is organizing your process instead of just winging it last minute. A lot of my life I have been complacent with being a bottle in the ocean, allowing the waves to drift me closer and further away from the loose goals that I had set for myself. The problem is, I was never big on organization and as a result, I never set solid goals for myself with deadlines attached. How can I truly ever track progress or know if I am actually moving forward if I never set a checkpoint to keep me on track? What I have started to do, thanks to advice from a few friends, is write down my thoughts to clear space in my mind and also keep a checklist of tasks performed daily. This small action may seem minuscule to most of you who are diligently organized in their process but for me, this a major step forward. I have not yet mastered this habit but it has started and I am grateful for this new sub-journey that it is taking me on. The evolution of this task will be to create a checklist further and further out so that simple tasks turn into short-term goals which turn into long-term goals. After all, playing the long game is where we find our biggest successes.
The last step, which might rank itself as the 2nd most important step, is being grateful for where you are currently. After finding ground and firmly planting yourself in it in the mental health step, it is time to allow yourself to be proud of how far you have actually come. We often hear that it is not other's progress that we should be focused on but our own instead, which is correct but the part that is left out, is the recognition for our current place in the race. As an athlete growing up, being aware of your breath keeps you level-headed and recognizing the success of each step keeps your pushing forward. What are you doing differently this year than you were last, or 3 years ago? What have you learned about life, career and yourself in the same amount of time? These victories should be celebrated, be proud of your growth but also make note of how you can improve at the same time in the future.
I shot with CJ while I was down in Miami for work, where I got some free time to knock out some work. The initial plan was to make connections with multiple artists in the area and line up a few shoots that I would then be able to use as a way to solidify them. What happened, as a result, was an example of allowing myself to be distracted by the negative rather than embracing the positive happenings around myself at the time. This trip served as my awakening from the bad habits that I had created and becoming pro-active in taking steps to correct them. Working with CJ, who was in the process of embarking on a new journey as well, turned out to be a small victory that I needed upon looking back. He was in constant motion in between clicks of the trigger, which as a shooter, is much appreciated because it then forces us to move along with our subjects in order to maintain a flow in composition. Nas'tassia, his girlfriend, did a great job styling this set to match the intended vibe from the mood board, selecting clothes that provided depth and the illusion of texture within them. The clothes, then, accented the location and allowed me to play around with the color palette of each set separately. This set is the first of many, as you will see in my next upcoming posts, where more fluidity and coexistence between the location, the color palette, the subject and the clothing combine to execute a full idea.
