??Start in the Middle

How thinking we are already in the middle leads us to our baby steps

Happy Sunday Friends,

9 years ago, Ed Sheeran, an artist who has sold over 150+ million records, showed everyone on the Jonathan Ross show how bad he once was as a singer.

I mean, you reaaalllllyyyyy have to see it from 0:38 to believe it.

But he also showed everyone one more thing,

No one is born with a natural talent. All creativity takes learning and practice.

This video made me think of all the stories we tell ourselves about why some creative pursuits aren’t within our reach:

We don’t have the talent, the market is too saturated, or we don’t have the right people around us to help, etc. While there is some reality in all of these stories when we are a complete beginner, they stop our progress if we believe them too much.

The truth is everyone is born with some creative instincts. Yet we are quite dismissive of them because creativity requires a lot of introspection from us in addition to learning and practice. It requires us to lean into our strengths and seek collaborations to create the work that is true to us. It is a level of hard work and vulnerability not many of us are comfortable with as beginners.

A method that works for me to get comfortable when I catch myself making up stories about why I can't pursue a project is to believe that I am already in the middle. I am not a complete beginner, but also, I don’t have all the answers. I am just having fun with my art. It is also quite true these days because there is so much information and support on the internet that almost none of us is starting any project from scratch.

I create work, research, and write this newsletter with the same mindset. For example, I think about what I would do if I were writing this newsletter for a million readers. I know that I would send it out every week and explore similar topics. The style, marketing and distribution strategy would change as I learn more. But, I would still write like I am sending letters to a friend.?

Surprisingly, thinking I am already in the middle leads me to my baby steps, like sending out this late Sunday evening newsletter.?

I am already in the middle of the process, and all I have to do is keep getting better each week.

Have a great week,

Best,

Wajiha

Thanks for reading The Joy of Making. Subscribe for free to my substack to receive a new edition straight to your inbox every week.

What I enjoyed this week :

Podcast-free week + Thinking Time :

I made a decision this week not to listen to any podcasts and just enjoy some much-needed thinking and reflection time. While it is excellent to have such great information around us, it is great to take a sabbatical from consumption once in a while and just sit with my thoughts.

Aus GP:

Formula 1 came to Australia last weekend, and it did not disappoint. I couldn’t get to Albert Park to watch it in person. However, the race was awesome for two reasons.

1. I have nothing against Max and Redbull, but I am loving the Scuderia Ferrari comeback.
2. Carlos Sainz is smoothly (pun intended) becoming the only driver to challenge Max. Pretty incredible comeback for someone who had an appendix removed two weeks ago and also doesn’t have a job for the next season yet.