What I Learned About Creativity from a Man Painting on a Treadmill

Summary

What I Learned About Creativity From a Man Painting on a Treadmill 13th April, 2024 For a long time, the fear of failure was like my arch nemesis. Looking back over my life, I can think of countless occasions when I chose not to do something, not because I didn’t want to, but because I worried about what could go wrong. I worried I might make a fool of myself or waste my time on a fruitless endeavor. Thankfully, as I’ve gotten older, I’m increasingly less concerned with what others think and more willing to give things a go for their own sake. But that fear of failure hasn’t gone away. Not entirely. And nowhere does this fear make itself more known than in resistance to acts of creativity. Sometimes, such fear is warranted — useful even. After all, what is it but self-doubt that pushes us to perform better or think more carefully? But the result can also be stifling. In some cases, even crippling. Anyone who has ever suffered writer’s block will know what I mean. When these blocks occur, we are often told that it can be helpful to have inspiration at hand. But inspiration is a funny thing. Often, I find that the things that are supposed to inspire me, such as award-winning works of literature, museum exhibits, and grand works of art, only dampen my spirits. After all, these grand accomplishments make my artistic efforts feel quite small, insignificant, and pointless. Perhaps I’m to blame. Maybe I need grander aspirations and less cynicism (and, I daresay, less envy?). Regardless, when I am at my lowest creatively, brilliance does not inspire me to lift myself from the dump heap of defeatism. Instead, it only rubs my nose in it. Gazing upon a masterpiece can’t help me during these low points. Instead, I need something more down-to-earth to put the joy back into the creative process. I require something that will, quite frankly, force me to get over myself. With that in mind, I want to introduce you to the show that has inspired me to take more chances on myself than ...