The lost art of experimentation
Of the many urban legends surrounding literature and dead writers, there’s one about Hemingway that I’ve grown fond of.
Hemingway used to wake up early to write, every day. No matter what. Even if he were to wind down on his bed at 2 am in the morning after a binge drinking session, he’d be up at 4, typing away at his typewriter.
Amidst the world of life coaches, self help books, and productivity cults, it’s hard to find what works. The sheer frequency of addition of new content is overwhelming, let alone trying to consume what’s already out there. The world of content consumption has been taken over by infinite scroll, leaving us no time to digest a piece without being shoved another one right in our faces.
When was the last time you stopped at one TEDx video? Or the last time you stopped at reading one advise-based articles?
The issue here, is not the mass abundance of media, itself. The issue is pacing. We don’t know how to take a break to process things before moving on to the next piece of content.
Consumption without comprehension is a futile exercise in mission of seeking out knowledge. You can’t do until you try. And you can’t try until you’ve decided on a plan of action in the first place. However, the paradox of infinite possibilities is just applicable to ideas.
When you’re starting out on your creative journey, you’ll be a vessel full of half-baked, overdone, unoriginal ideas. So, we keep on a look out for the one big idea. The one great feeling of getting an idea about your greatest masterpiece that’ll be your mark on the canvas of human existence.
Thinking always and never executing is one of the worst things we do to ourselves as artists. With the constant influx of new ideas here and there, our brains begin resembling our infinite feeds, where we forget everything after a short while. This is where my favourite urban legend comes in.
Creating regularly is not just about discipline.
Creating regularly is not just about improving skills.
Creating regularly is about having a creative space wherein we’re free to experiment with our latest ideas.
Experimentation takes up more than 95% of the creative process.
It is absolutely essential for us to work on our bad ideas because many times, the difference between a bad idea and a good idea, lies in the execution. Whenever we create, we give ourselves the time and space to experiment, play around, and try to bring our craziest ideas to life. It doesn’t matter if we fail a thousand times, in order to get through the jargon inside our own head and get to our real thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
