MMM Newsletter #2: "What if this was easy?"
- Sebastian Ernst
- Sep 28, 2022
- 4 min read
👋 Hi, Sebastian here!
Welcome to my weekly Mind Makes Matter Newsletter, where I am sharing my latest creative thinking and doing, plus articles, posts, ideas and anything else I found helpful as a designer, creative coach and mindful human.
Let’s jump right in!
😈 How to tame your inner critic
-meet fussy, my inner critic
All creatives I know seem to have it: A strong inner critic. It might help them edit and prioritize their thoughts. But for some, it paralyzes ANY form of growth and forward movement.
If you have an inner critic that is blocking you, it’s time to label it as a part of you that can change.
It’s not YOU, it’s the inner critic.
So try and give your inner critic a name and image.
I’ve recorded a short instagram reel about how labeling your inner voice can lessen it’s power over you. In addition, I am in process of building a worksheet that helps you to do so, of course you will read it here first when it releases.
🧠Awareness from my coaching client: The question nobody asks themself when choosing a new career path
When we are in a transitional period of our professional life, we often look for clues in past work. This week, I’ve explored my client's potential strengths so she can plan the next step in her creative career.
I’ve noticed something in our conversation that I hear from a lot of clients: When they say what they like about past projects, they tend to state only the external factors: The client was great, My team did this and that, I’ve gotten really great feedback.
Then, they get stuck.
We rarely investigate more than that. As a result, we often search for job titles rather thant skills when applying somewhere new. We seem to miss the most important question here:
-“What about me made this project really successful?”
If we explore this question, we can let go of the external factors (That we can’t control anyways) and look inside for our strengths and interests.
After asking this question to my client, we gathered useful information about her new career. Next, we developed an ideal version of her new work that would foster her strengths.
Asking yourself about the strengths you have shown in past projects helps you to:
zoom out and see the bigger picture of what drives you
take back control of your professional journey
apply your skills to your new creative profession, not your job title.
🤔 Question I’m exploring
- „What if this was easy?“
It does not get more blunt than this but sometimes the most simple questions get your mind working most efficiently.
I am currently applying this question to my content creation plan after taking a two month hiatus from Instagram & Co because it took too much attention away from my focus of my actual coaching practice and training.
So, what if my content creation would be easy?
The process would be fun. Less focus on the metrics, more trying out what I enjoy creating.
It would create good results even without any external validation. For example, I want to become more confident talking on camera. I can exercise this skill through social media, likes and shares would just be the icing on the cake.
The content would always be a byproduct of my main work, not the work itself.
It would be a part of already existing routine. Currently, I am journaling in some way on a daily basis. Could my content be my “public journal”?
Where are you currently struggling with a task that feels hard and you could apply this question?
Let me know by replying to this e-mail.
👂🏼 Tweet that got stuck in my ear
This is why I am trying to match my information input to my creative output. To become better at any skill, you have to actually do that skill to become increasingly better.
This idea pairs nicely with this quote from Ira Glass:
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
If you’re currently overloading your system by gathering information and inspiration until you start to create, shift this balance on creating until you are out of new ideas. Only then, watch what others are doing. Put some tension on your creativity muscle!
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