When inspiration becomes a distraction, do this.
“Ok, feet over the bolts, bend your knees a bit, and look in the direction you’re going (not down)... ready?
On three: one.. two…three!”
I pushed my 4-year-old son gently on his skateboard. He wiggled a bit but managed to keep his balance.
My heart swelled with pride.
We tried the same exercise, just practicing balance in motion, for 15 solid minutes and then he saw a teenager speed through a ramp, jumping and doing tricks.
He stopped, his mouth ajar.
“Papá, I want to go there, I want to do that!” He said pointing at the ramp.
I acknowledged his desire while telling him we couldn’t go there yet. He needed to learn to keep balance first or it would be dangerous.
There was a shift.
He wanted so bad to do the tricks before he had learned the fundamentals! When I told him we couldn’t go do the tricks just yet, he lost interest in the practice.
I felt for him, because I’ve felt the same way. It’s easy to compare ourselves with the pros we see on the internet and wish we could do what they do right now.
But life is about compounding, not immediacy.
Growth in life and in your creative business is about stacking skill after skill.
In life, you have to learn to balance before you can do the tricks.
I realized my son needs to practice alone first. The skatepark is a place to get inspired, but not to practice. At least not yet for him. Practice and inspiration must happen in different places at this stage.
Maybe it’s the same for us creatives, don’t you think?
It is very easy to lose interest in your own practice when you spend hours looking at the wonderful things others are posting on social media.
Inspiration becomes bad for us. It turns into a distraction.
When that happens, put our phone away and work on our skills instead
If you spend more time privately learning your fundamentals than seeking inspiration, loving the process more than the result, you’ll actually grow faster. Sooner than you expect, you’ll be the kid doing the fancy tricks, being an inspiration for others.
Fresh Tip:
Inspiration can quickly become a distraction.
Spend more time working on your craft than seeking inspiration.
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