If you’re a creative person, then you’ve probably struggled with judging your own art. I would know because I’m the same way. I’ll say things like, “I’m my own worst critic,” or “I’m a perfectionist, so it’s not good enough.”
To make matters worse, not only do we judge what we create, we’re even critical of when we create. We promise ourselves to write, draw, or make something “every Saturday,” or “each morning after breakfast.” We schedule out the “perfect plan” that would guarantee we’re creating on a consistent basis, only to forget, miss, or flat out avoid our own creative “appointments.”
And then what happens?
Disappointment. Guilt. Self-deprecation. That little, mean voice in our heads saying, “Yet another failure.” Or, “You never do what you say you will.” Or maybe something like, “You’re such a loser and you should just quit.”
If we’re not careful, we’ll actually listen to our negative self-talk, and then we quit on our creativity for weeks, months, or even longer. So what can we do? When self-judgment has led us astray, what can we do to get back on track and start creating again?
“Simply begin again.”
This phrase is as powerful as it is simple.
“Simply begin again” is a phrase found in mindfulness meditation and popularized by meditation teacher and author, Joseph Goldstein (watch this short clip of his explanation). Here’s how it works:
In basic meditation, we’re invited to sit and focus on our breath. Without training, our monkey minds can only maintain focus for maybe two or three breaths before getting lost in thought again. In those moments when we realize that we’ve been lost in thought, Joseph teaches us to “simply begin again.” Rather than reprimand our monkey minds for wandering, simply acknowledge that we’ve been lost in thought. Then simply return to the activity of focusing on our breath.
Focusing on Our Creativity
In meditation, we focus on our breath; in art and content, we focus on creating. So in the same way that the monkey mind pulls the meditator away from the focus of her breath, our self-judgment often pulls us away from the focus of our creativity. Simply begin again. Whenever we get lost in our negative self-talk, simply begin again. Whenever we’ve been distracted from our craft for many months in a row, simply begin again. Whenever life gets in the way and we feel like we’ve forgotten how to do whatever it is that we know deep inside we are called to do…
Simply
Begin
Again.