"M" Is For Mediocre

Story time, during our stay in the dark underbelly of the ultimate internet rabbit hole..... Youtube ...we came across a video by Ethio Karma Explaining how to make a simple animation using your phone, and we sat there with our mouth open and watched the whole video. We thought to ourselves - what an awesome video, simple, entertaining and to the point-? and that sparked a conversation, we began to talk about our individual experience with Youtube, Aman With he’s? Adobe After Effects tutorials and Ayana with his Art showcase videos, and how procrastination and hackers ruined their dreams of internet stardom.?

Our conversation then shifted to the struggles of putting out our work throughout the years.? When no one knew what we could do, it was easy to put our work in. And now that expectation from people? and ourselves, not to forget our egos, got a hold of us, it's like when you see a baby walk everyone goes waw so impressive but when you see a 3 year old walk what's new right, it’s supposed to do that, we expect it to do that right? And here lies our point, We are finding it more and more difficult? to put our art out there, with the biggest excuse we utter being “ we don't want to put out mediocre art”?

This notion has been discussed in depth by people much smarter than us, mainly by writer Steven Pressfield in his 2002 best seller “War of ART - Winning the inner creative battle”, he unpacks the internal battle faced by any creative individual on their journey to artistic expression. centering around the concept of "Resistance," an internal force that throws up roadblocks like procrastination, self-doubt, and fear to sabotage our creative endeavors. Pressfield identifies Resistance as the main antagonist in the pursuit of creative fulfilment. He identifies that Resistance manifests in various forms, and one of them is the universal cheerleader for procrastination “ Fear of mediocrity”.?

“You can’t get from 0-100 without passing 50”?

Challenges like this might sound very first worldish but they happen to the best of us, whether we have been doing this for years or just starting out, fear is and always will be the common denominator, it’s the deciding factor between Growing and stagnating. All artistic ventures inherently expose vulnerability, laying bare the flaws that make us human.

To navigate this limbo, we must acknowledge that the pursuit of perfection often hinders progress. Embracing vulnerability and accepting imperfections in our creations is not a testament to mediocrity but a celebration of authenticity. As we tread the uncertain path of creativity, we need to remember that it is through our flaws that the true essence of our art emerges. Plus. As long as we do our part, which is being present and putting oneself in the position to create, the outcome is up to the gods! So, let us cast aside the fear of mediocrity and step into the world of free creative expression, for it is there that we find our true selves, imperfect yet beautifully human.?