It’s that season of the year when people are more depressed than usual and too depressed to perform, write, or post on social media.
The thinking is, nobody cares what we have to say and nobody’s paying attention, so why bother?
The thing that compels us to entertain is the reaction we get from others. That’s what it’s all about, so it makes sense that we would lose our drive to entertain if nobody’s liking, commenting, or watching.
Or does it?
When you were 4 years old and you drew pictures or performed in front of the mirror, you did it to amuse yourself. You performed and created for the sheer joy of it.
Don’t lose that sense of play! It doesn’t matter if nobody’s watching. You have the power to amuse yourself. Stop caring so much. Stop trying too hard. Just be silly, goof around, and see if you can have fun performing for an audience of one.
It’s the “giving up hope is your only hope” approach. When you stop caring what other people will think, and you do it for the sheer, selfish joy of it, that’s often when other people respond most favorably to your work.
Try it!
"Too depressed...to perform...on social media...". Not according to my e-mail inbox. I follow so many people who insist on "performing" that it interferes with my own "performance" schedule. But I don't want to piss any of them off if I revoke my "patronage", lest I be subject to an online vendetta...
Great post... I wrote about the importance of being in the moment the other day, when you feel it is hard to get into the creative groove. Sometimes you just have to let go of expectations to get back to it.