On staying focused

There is a desire, for artists like us, to birth every idea that enters our realm. We fall in love with every thought - giving it life before recognizing that it might not be meant for us.

I imagine ideas floating around me like invisible bubbles. Every once in a while, one touches my skin and pops, revealing itself to me with a sense of hope and excitement that I lose my focus because the promise bound within each bright shiny object offers the next breakthrough, breakout, and/or breakdown. And that is often so much more fun than what I am currently working on.

The possibility of what lives in the unknown. The possibility of what is possible.

It could be a poem or a program. A piece of dialogue or a direct response email. 

It's also the perfect vehicle to engage in my favorite activity ever (and one I am a master at) - procrastination.

The fear of creating something bad is worse to me than the fear of not completing something. Having 10 projects in various stages of completion ensures no one will ever see them and therefore, they can't be judged as bad (and therefore I can't be judged as bad, stupid, fake, or not good enough).

Procrastination keeps me stuck and keeps me safe.

Going from idea to idea keeps me from taking a stand and letting the world know what I am here to do.

Never reaching "The End" means that I don't have to take responsibility for anything.

I can blame being unfocused, having too many great ideas, being overwhelmed, not having enough time, .... for where I am in my life right now.

Staying focused until completion means I am responsible for what I have created. And with that, I am opening myself up to being seen and heard (and judged and pitied).

With focus comes clarity.

Clarity - the one thing procrastinators hate most because with clarity, all of the excuses of "I don't know what to do" and "I am so busy" fall away.

Staying focused eliminates excuses.

The only thing left is to do it; to put myself out there in a way that is uncomfortable and unsafe.

And that is what makes me, and you, an artist.

And that is what makes what we do so vitally important.

So, stay focused and let's change the world. One creation at a time.