The Freedom of Creating and Putting Yourself Out There

Photo by Michael Competielle

“Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.”

— Japanese Proverb

There is nothing that I fear. Not judgement, failure or vulnerability. Everyday I’ll rise to the occasion to take charge of my life and take risks. I’m a decision maker in which 95% of my decisions are good and 5% are brutally horrendous however I stand behind every decision 100% always.

Years of experience doing things wrong, failing and being judged has toughened my skin to create a resilience to critique. My inner self questions my thoughts and path as my gut tells me “just do it”.

Recently I was mentoring a colleague where a work situation went wrong, I let the problem fester a bit and when the moment was right I corrected the situation. My colleague was perturbed at how I’d left them vulnerable in this scenario and my reaction was “ remember how you felt in that moment. Your heart racing and chest sunken. When you feel that way again you now know how to react and direct yourself out of this situation”.

“If you give a man a fish, he will be hungry tomorrow. If you teach a man to fish, he will be richer forever.” Indian Proverb

It works, when I get that gut feeling or emotional moment I recognize I’ve been there before, make a fine adjustment to counteract the situation and move on.

When I was a kid my uncle and father taught me to play pool. I didn’t have great strength nor dexterity to effectively break the tightly racked balls. When it was my turn to shoot, I’d miss three or four times until I’d realize I was about to lose. I’d focus on what I was doing and patiently plan my next shot. Knowing I was about to be beaten I’d concentrate on the speed, angle and trajectory of the shot while planning the next.

With a firm crack I’d hit in one ball after another in a 2–3 ball run and usually catch up. I wouldn’t always win but my abilities and confidence increased with the pressures of possibly loosing.

With focus and determination I’d put my mind into a state of flow.

Throughout my life when I find myself in a creative state and need to push thru and finish, I’ll focus on my vision of the completed project and get there. Hitting the send button at the completion of any project once I feel I’m complete I do so with the confidence I’m at my best.

I’m never questioning if I’ve done wrong or missed the point, I’ll hit send based on my ability to take risks and ward off criticism. My objective is to keep creating more and more content. Occasionally I’ll miss the mark however my next attempt will be better than every and an improvement on the previous iteration.

https://medium.com/@mcompetielle/the-freedom-of-creating-and-putting-yourself-out-there-9294e8e04e3d?source=friends_link&sk=b3997b08c4bfc8b2f6f6b7b029e9633e

Author: mtcwriter

Michael Competielle is a Creative Designer specializing in Sound, Brand and Experiential Design.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.