Get Numb Before You Get Good

Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it

All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. . . . But it’s like there’s a gap. That for the first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making, isn’t so good . . . it’s not quite that good. . . . If you’re just starting off and you’re entering into that phase, you gotta know it’s totally normal and the mo

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If you are fortunate or unfortunate enough to wonder:

“What should I spend my time working on?”

Then perhaps a better question is:

“Where am I most afraid to fail?”

When we’re avoiding some path because failure would destroy us, that’s often the path we need to go down.

Because if we aren’t afraid of failing, do we really care at all?

How do you build confidence in yourself as a writer? You write. It's so simple that it's complicated. The reason why writers struggle with self-confidence at the beginning of their journey is because they are still sitting on the dock, waiting, imagining. They haven't yet confronted the brutal reality that, once they begin, they probably aren't goi... See more

You’ll get good at anything you commit to. Most of talent is bullshit. Don’t worry about getting good, worry about seeing if you like the process of getting good. If you’re only going to enjoy something when you’re good at it, you’re not going to stick with it. You’re looking for what you also enjoy sucking at. 

This is a difficult problem, because you don't want to completely eliminate your horror of making something lame. That's what steers you toward doing good work. You just want to turn it off temporarily, the way a painkiller temporarily turns off pain.