Being creative requires that we take a risk. We must if we want to move beyond where we are, express something new and not go in repetitive circles. Fear and having our attention on the wrong things keep us on the merry-go-round.

We are always paying attention to something but is it what’s important to us. The world is full of things calling for our attention which makes it easy to lose track of what we care about.

There was a period when I was watching a lot of television. It helped me to unwind and didn’t require too much thinking or energy after a long day at a job I didn’t like and a long commute. The problem is I kept wanting to watch more and more shows. It got to the point where I used to think, “I’ve got to get home. My show is coming on tonight”. I wasn’t producing the show, writing the show, or even an extra on the show- the things that I wanted to be doing- but I still called it, “My show.” I was brought back to reality.

My television watching was a balm. It covered up the disconnected feeling being created by not doing what was important to me. Change was needed and with change comes fear. Making the creative life we want will require many bouts with this ruthless and tricky foe.

I decreased my work hours and stopped watching television. (I unplugged the t.v. and put it in the corner of my living room.) The fear really kicked in then because I now had the time to do the things I had been thinking and talking about doing and less distractions to keep me from feeling the emotions that were surfacing. I slowly-very slowly-began to put my energy and time into my creative ideas.

Taking a risk will bring up fear and feeling fear requires us to take a risk. The two go together in a weird poetic way. Each of us has to find our way around the fear we have evoked. We can do it even when fear proclaims that we can not. It is our choice and taking the risk for our creativity is worth it.