Welcome to the Libra Full Moon edition of Nick Lets Rip.
Before I get into today’s post, I want to invite you all to join me in a little project.
and I have decided to write one piece to a prompt every week. (~500 words, nothing wild)Hitting the publish button is like training a muscle, it gets easier the more often you do it, so we want to create a Substack Fitness Studio (my words, not his).
If you’re keen, drop a comment or reply to the email and I’ll be in touch.
Alright, that’s covered, now let’s get crackin!
I’ve been thinking about the gifts we come into the world with lately, and whether we or not we are given enough space in daily life to embrace them.
Another consideration that has been running through my mind is whether we’re supposed to lean into these gifts and use them, or whether they’re supposed to tick along in the background.
My gut says we should lean into them, that’s why we’ve got them. Another part of me thinks that when you use something that you’re inherently lucky to have, there’s a risk that you start to abuse it.
Spiderman principle applies here: with great power comes great responsibility.
In Yogic philosophy, people attain magical gifts (siddhis) that come with perfection, and they are properly magical (think telekinesis etc.). It’s abundantly clear that you are NOT supposed to be leveraging these gifts, because they can easily pull a yogi off the path to full enlightenment.
But I’m talking about the things that you’re good at by sheer virtue of who you are, where you were born, what you’re interested in, etc.
Some people are natural math whizzes, others have the ‘gift of the gab’, and others can solve a problem without any training or experience whatsoever
These are the gifts that I’m thinking about.
Lately, the topic of writing has been red-hot in my discussions. I’m realising that a) people think twice before hitting publish and b) apparently not everyone approaches writing the same way that I do. Who’d have thunk it?
After asking around, I realised that I am probably the weird one when ‘the normal approach to writing’ is considered. I was in a group discussion not long ago and the question was ‘think about a piece that you’re currently working on and…’ and I tuned out.
‘A piece that I’m currently working on? I’m not currently working on a piece, I’m in a video call listening to someone talk about pieces that I am not currently working on’...
The very concept of having a piece of work between started and finished, just sitting there, is foreign to me. It’s a single process with a beginning, middle, and end, and you get it done as quickly as possible.
It’s apparently normal for people to think about things, do a little bit of research and investigation, start writing, stop writing, resume writing, finish a first draft, come back and do a second draft, take even more time to come back to it, and then finally come back to do a third draft.
Usually, around then, they’ll deem the work ready to go.
And then MAYBE they’ll hit publish.
What the hell is that for a process?! It sounds more like work and less like a creative explosion to me.
My approach is: sit down, switch off my brain, let my fingers move at whatever speed they deem necessary, run a spellcheck, if I’m feeling really professional I’ll leave it overnight and check it in the morning, then I hit publish, and that’s it.
Get that sucker out the door. Published is better than perfect.
For the past weeks, as I’ve been thinking about Quality, I’ve been searching for problems with my processes and trying to figure out how I can improve them. Some insights have come along the way and have been enacted, but you know what the big one was?
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. My way works for me, so I roll with it. Sure, I can improve it and tailor it a little bit here and there, but the second I start to add things that stop me from writing anything (or lead me to delete every attempt I make) I realise I’m off the track.
I’m far better at writing how I write than trying to write how other people write.
Uku and I were discussing creativity, as I’d complained that my present environment wasn’t leaving me feeling creative. He asked ‘What do you count as creativity? Does your Substack count?’ and I said, ‘Oh no, Substack is just me writing stuff’.
The look I got back from him made me realise ‘Oh that’s right, writing is a creative act, Substack or otherwise!’ I may be creative, but sometimes I’m monumentally blind.
And that’s where this topic of gifts has come up. I don’t think about this as an abnormal thing, and until very recently I assumed that people write this way. Apparently not.
Maybe this is a gift. I am not afraid to hit publish, and I usually don’t have a problem in getting the words out.
This Quality theme has persisted over the last weeks though, and I am exploring it and trying to imbue Quality into the things I do. What that looks like now is approaching my writing with enough time and space to let different characters show up in the writing.
recently shared the idea of The Madman, The Architect, The Carpenter, and The Judge with me.The Madman takes a blank page and turns it into a frenzy of words resembling a creation (if you’re lucky).
The Architect comes through and says, ‘that’s a wall, you’ve got some windows there, I reckon there’s your door, and maybe that’s a roof’. (Translation: provides structure)
The Carpenter comes through after that and touches up the cornices, sands back the floor, fits the windows and ensures the roof is solid. (Translation: word selection, flow improvements)
The Judge comes by after that for a final inspection to make sure that everything will pass inspection by relevant bodies. (Translation: spelling, grammar, and punctuation)
People typically get stuck when they try to write as two characters simultaneously. The Madman gets started and The Judge jumps in with his critical eye, and that’s it, no more creative burst from the crazy guy.
My process usually doesn’t involve The Architect or The Carpenter. The foundation is stable (in the eyes of The Madman), and it’s only a shanty anyway, so The Judge gives it the all-clear and away we go.
PUBLISH.
That produces good enough, and usually, I’m happy with good enough.
But ugh, you know what? Good enough isn’t good enough anymore. I want it to be as good as I can make it.
There are many reasons, but the main one is I feel better when I sit back and know I put my heart into it, not just my mind.
And heart is a combination of a bunch of different things, it involves feelings, not just thoughts.
And feelings are a pretty reliable indicator of things. Not like emotions. Not to be trusted!!
I think my work is fine. I feel like my work is good. There’s the difference.
Since my awareness has been growing on this theme, it’s impossible to see anything else.
Hopefully this will translate into better posts, and my head will hit the pillow after each rampage with the excitement that comes knowing that I’ll have tradesmen coming to visit my work before I send it out.
I just hope that – unlike most tradesmen – they actually show up and do their job.
Happy Full Moon 😊