Do you ever have an idea and wonder what on earth to do with it? The great idea you immediately regret sharing. As soon as it's out there, its fragility is plain to see. Not because it's a bad idea, because the weight of expectation bears down upon it.
Ideas need time, space and nurturing. Share them too soon and you may as well run at a brick wall with a golden egg.
Accountability: a powerful tool for action, but not your fledgling ideas
Recently I was chatting with some networking colleagues of mine about accountability. We talked about how powerful it is when trying to move something forwards.
Here's the thing though: accountability is absolutely brilliant when there's something in business that you need to do. Accountability is not so helpful when developing a creative idea. I'd say it's downright damaging to creativity.
Why do action and accountability go hand-in-hand?
Accountability for work and business is bang on. Sometimes we need to be reminded to move. We need that pressure, to know that someone else is counting on us, that they've put their time and energy into having our back. That emotional tie, the expectation of delivery is a powerful motivation to make us do something.
The ability to bounce things off someone else, reflect on action taken, and what to do differently next time is useful in a practical sense too. It helps us get out of our own heads, out of our way, and get on.
Your creative ideas can’t be held accountable by anyone
Sharing creative plans, inklings, and dreams with all and sundry in an effort to shame yourself into bringing them to life out of social pressure is nonsense.
Too strong?
I've been there. I've done that thing that every business guru tells you to do: share thoughts and dreams with people you care about and respect, so you have an emotional attachment and are more likely to fulfil them.
It backfires every time I've tried it. I have an idea, a creative spark flares in my heart. I offer said heart on a plate to those around me and all that's left after a fleeting moment of jubilation, is the cold vulnerability of being the Tin Man. Hollow. Bereft of the thing that is at the centre of your being. Crying out for the life-giving force of a heart.
Creativity is like magic
The power is in self-containment: closely guarded secrets and clandestine toil. The only purpose sharing a smidge of an idea serves is to make the excuses, the post-rationalising, and the carte blanche even more creative when you've talked yourself out of doing what your heart desires. That is a total misuse of creativity and is the cheapest, dirtiest trick creatives play on themselves and one another. Because if you can't do something creative for yourself, to satisfy your own creative yearnings, you sure as hell aren't going to be able to do something creative because someone else has an expectation of you.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, I recently took a self-guided creative course called ‘The Artist's Way’. The author, Julia Cameron, like so many before and after her, makes the point that creativity and creative ideas have a natural gestation period, just like any embryonic being.
The thing is, we don't know how long that will be. And that makes us more than a little nervy. Sometimes we're a rat-mother and sometimes we're an elephant. We simply have to sit with the idea and watch as it grows.
Time: because your ideas matter
Being with an idea is not the same as sitting on your hands and doing nothing with it.
It's about keeping it safe behind closed doors, nourishing it, and giving it time to grow, develop, and become strong and healthy.
That process is not something that can be externalised. As a person harbouring an idea, you can't simply pluck it from your mind and put all of that into somebody else's hands – or their to-do list.
You’ve had an idea: now what?
The trouble is, the process is often thwarted before it has begun.
The guilt of not immediately taking action becomes too much. The uncertainty, about what this thing that's rattling around your brain even is, gets way too uncomfortable. The immense pressure of 'should' and 'ought' wield their power and the person succumbs.
"I should do something about this..."
"I should call so and so about this..."
"I ought to act..."
"I shouldn't sit around doing nothing with this...!"
Or, on sharing the secret idea, the one phrase that has the power to induce guilt, shame, and a feeling of lack simultaneously:
"You should really do something about that..."
Said with a kind heart, the speaker smothers the idea with the pillow of their admiration.
I bet all the best, the sweetest, the most magical ideas you've ever had in your life have come from hiding something in yourself until it's ready to be shared. I know that's true for me!
Perhaps you've been one of these people:
The newlywed who won't let his wife into the shed, until the love-seat he's been wood-working is done
The best friend who's cagey for weeks, and doesn't relax until the surprise party is in full swing
The grandmother who hides the knitting pattern for her granddaughter's favourite Disney character until the rag-doll is complete
Think about it. How many musicians, authors, or filmmakers have you heard interviewed and began with the words, 'I've been wanting to make this album, write this book, shoot this film for a long time...'
The danger of sharing an idea too soon
Sharing a tentative idea subjects it to a lot of nonsense: expectation, pressure, forcing before it's ready...
It's important to say though, that hiding an idea until it's ready to be shared does not mean hiding it away until it's perfect.
It means keeping it to yourself until it's ready.
It's the moment when you reveal a juicy secret that you've been quietly enjoying. You know you're stepping over the threshold, that it won't just be yours any more. And yet, when the moment is right, there's a kind of pleasure in that: turning out the jelly onto the plate, hold your breath, one, two, three... pheeeeeew!
Your inner voice is right. Listen.
The trick is to know where the line is between that which needs to be incubated and that which needs to be shared and then acted upon. That is the art.
It's not easy!
Learn to recognise your own inner voice and practise listening to it. You know. You know when it's time to share that little spark of creativity and when to let it harbour strength in the darkness a little longer.
What to do with your creative ideas
Accountability for work and business is a must.
If you don't have someone to hold you accountable, find them! A coach, a mentor, a partner, colleague, business associate, or networking contact. All of these people who you trust to support you in the rest of your work and life are great choices for accountability partners.
And when it comes to being creative?
Rather than finding an accountability buddy, see if you can find it within yourself to treat your creative self with a little kindness. To not badger, measure, or wave your stopwatch at your creative idea. See if you can give it the space, the time, and the nourishment that it needs - and wait to see what happens.
Your words matter,
Laura
The Weekly Writing Reflection
Welcome!
Each week I share an inspirational quote and a writing prompt. The idea is for you to spend a moment doing some active reflection through writing.
“When you’re trying to create something truly original, you make a bunch of mistakes. Originals are a mess.”
- Tim Urban
And your writing prompt:
My most joyful mess-up was...
What’s Caught My Eye This Week
Each and every week I’ll share a few snippets of inspiration, thought-provocation and jubilation. Hand-curated delights, selected by yours truly to stimulate your mind and soothe your soul.
Photos of abandoned pot plants in the office – There’s something strangely moving about these images of wilted, dried-out pot plants.
Manifesto for good podcasting – Thanks to Steve Heatherington for this. If you host a podcast or if you’re thinking of starting one, this is well worth your time.
What kind of reader are you? I love a daft quiz, so here's one about books. Double good.
Moments of Inner Strength - Miniature podcasts, to help us check in and remind us of what matters personally and professionally. Each is shorter than two minutes and covers topics from headspace to creativity. Thanks to Lizzie Rhodes James for sharing.
That’s all folks! Have a brilliant weekend and I’ll see you back here next week.
Take care.