Give Up Too Soon – Allowed to Push Through Hard Things
Creativity Killer #6 – Give Up Too Soon
In creative business, some days come easier than others. Sometimes, we’re focused and on task and cranking things out. Then other times, it feels like slogging through mud while walking uphill in a snowstorm.
What makes the difference? Why are ideas exciting and energizing one day but overwhelming and unappealing the next day? What gets in the way of motivation and kills creativity? In this post, we’ll talk about the sixth of seven creativity killers and give ourselves permission to move beyond it.
Sometimes, I want to quit!
I have been blessed with a fair bit of stick-at-em (pure stubbornness), to the point of hanging on a little too long. But I still face the temptation to give up. I do give up on some things sometimes.
With creativity and doing something you love, the temptation to give up can become more than a simple frustration. It has a tendency to eat away at your resolve and dissolve your stick-at-em.
When you put in the time and give the energy but the results are still slim … and the journey lasts much longer than you anticipated … you may face a very real desire to toss it all off a cliff and walk away. Forever.
Maybe that thought feels good, and it is time to give up. Maybe the timing isn’t right or the money has run out or it makes life too unbalanced or it isn’t worth the stress or …
It’s possible you’re just feeling frustrated and that’s all it is. Frustration. Impatience. The process is moving too slowly. You aren’t learning fast enough. The success feels very far away. What if all of this is only a feeling? Then, if you give up, you might be giving up too soon.
Nothing kills creativity like giving up.
I mean, what’s left after you give up? Nothing. It’s done.
So, then, what if you do give up? What if you give in to that tired part of yourself? Then, you won’t have the frustration anymore. Sigh … what a lovely thought!
But you won’t have the dream inching closer anymore either. And … it’s quite likely that you’ll still have the desire to dream it. Creativity calls long and deep.
When I want to give up, a little voice inside of me says, “But you love this and what if you’re almost there?”
That thought helps me take one more step, paint one more picture, letter one more word.
(I found this article by Leigh Shulman, Quit or Keep Going?, and I love the chart she made. It encompasses all of the emotions creatives feel when faced with giving up and some straight-forward responses to them.)
How does giving up too soon kill creativity?
- When you give up, you stop trying. When you stop trying, you no longer put energy into the creative process. Creativity needs fed to grow. My creativity works like a muscle. The more I use it, the more it wants to work. Giving up halts the process completely. Just like a muscle will lose strength, so will creativity.
- When you give up, you add regret mixed with “what if” thinking. You will always wonder if you could have done better if you’d continued to try.
What do you do when you feel frustrated and want to quit?
- Take a break.
- Sleep on it.
- Do something else for a while.
I know this seems like a repeated answer from other Creativity Killers, but for me, creativity needs space and time. When I step away from a project my mind is struggling with, my brain keeps working on it in the background while it takes a breather from the pressure of the moment.
Many times, my answer appears when I wake up in the morning, do a mindless task (fold laundry) or go for a run. The solution almost materializes out of nowhere because my brain had a moment to relax.
When you want to give up, remember … you are allowed to push through hard things, to feel frustrated and decide not to give up. Give yourself permission to take a break and come back later. You can even give up (but after a break, maybe you won’t want to anymore).
Happy Creating!
Check out the other five Creativity Killers.
- #1, Perfectionism – Allowed to be Imperfect
- #2, Fear of Failure – Allowed to Make Mistakes and Keep Trying
- #3, Striving and Stressed Out – Allowed to Slow Down
- #4, Too Many Ideas – Allowed to do One Thing at a Time
- #5, Too Busy – Allowed to be Intentional with Your Time
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Joanne Groff
Just a brainy creative with a fascination about how people think and understand. I use watercolor and letter design to encourage connection ... with self, the environment, and especially the people who live there.
