Sometimes The Goal is to Not Finish

steemitph (64)in #steemph • 6 years ago (edited)

Finishing, specially with some form of distinction like being the first, the brightest, the fastest etc. is often the goal in sports and academics. Finishing a project however, be it a painting, a musical composition, a movie, or a book is not the biggest worry for creatives.

Creatives are most fearful type of people. Kevin Chung in his article 11 Things That Scare Creative Artists, listed these down as some of the commonly known fear of creatives:

Afraid of failure
Afraid of success
Afraid of hard work (Art is supposed to be fun & easy)
Afraid of being themselves
Afraid to release work that isn’t perfect
Afraid of being rejected
Afraid to ask questions
Afraid to ask others for help
Afraid to ask others to pay for their work
Afraid to market their art (People should be lining up to buy our work)
Afraid of the unknown

At first glance this list looks like pretty common fears that exist with just about everybody. The propensity for these fears to be magnified however is greater in creatives. There's been a number of studies argued to be inconclusive, but are always creeping up about the link between creativity and mental illness. While fear is an emotion which is normal, when fear and worry becomes constant and overwhelming, it is reclassified as anxiety disorders.

“To be creative, you have to think differently, and when we are different, we have a tendency to be labelled strange, crazy and even insane”. Kari Stefansson, founder and CEO of deCODE told The Guardian in relation to a study to find a link between creativity, and the risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder at the genetic level.

Because of instability caused by the higher risk of mental illness, there's also been a number of studies linking suicide with creativity.

“We must travel in the direction of our fear.” ~ John Berryman (1914 – 1972)

“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” ~ Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961)

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!” ~ Hunter S. Thompson (1937 – 2005)

These are just three of the long list of great literary minds who died at their own hands. Add the likes of Van Gogh in the visual arts, and the likes of Chris Cornell in music; and the list extends further. There are arguments about how the data used in these studies can be skewed, and we all know that both mental illness and suicide are not exclusive to the artistic community. What has been proven is the different thought process involved in creativity, which can very well explain the many fears of creatives.

Any of the earlier listed fears can turn into anxiety enough to manifest some physical changes that may be paralyzing for not only creative activities, but the very will to live. Your words can be powerful enough to encourage someone who is struggling to keep going, or sharp enough to cut through the will of someone seemingly optimistic. What is it going to be?