Messy at the start
A rule of life: it's always going to feel messy at the start.
And this rule is not domain specific. It applies across the board: in learning a new skill, in creating something, in taking on a new role, in becoming a new version of yourself. These messy parts, as painful as they are, must be experienced; they are the on-ramp to the experiences of fulfillment, joy, and contentment that we are looking for.
Yet our tendency is to personalize this moment as something that’s wrong with us. But every great creator has navigated this same challenge. A few of my favorite famous examples:
J.R.R. Tolkien didn't even have the eponymous ring in his first drafts of Lord of The Rings; it took multiple revisions to land on this idea.
Ed Catmull, president of Pixar, says that, "Early on, all of our movies suck."
Ernest Hemingway wrote the ending of A Farewell To Arms 39 different times before he was satisfied.
You can’t skip the messy part, because that’s where the magic happens. It’s the process of engaging with the mess that allows us to transform it. Through our attention and our effort, we turn it into something beautiful.
The next time you find yourself feeling adrift in the mess, pause and reach for compassion instead. Remind yourself, "This is how everyone feels when they're facing the mess; I am not alone. This feeling doesn't mean I'm not talented, capable, or resourceful. It just means I'm a human, going through the messy parts first."
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