Introduction
This post offers some thoughts on the nature of the creative process, what it takes to make our ideas a reality, and the importance of persistence and determination as we shape and refine our efforts.
Background
It was September 2014, and I was at a low. I’d just finished writing my fourth draft of Coaching Psychology in Schools, and I found myself feeling really dissatisfied with it. Although it was reasonably well put-together in terms of its practical and academic/theoretical content, I thought the writing was generally dry, unengaging, and I was querying the worth and value of the book. To have spent so much time and effort on something that I was dissatisfied with was very disheartening, and after four attempts I wondered whether I would ever be able to get it into a state that I was happy with. However, I wasn’t sure what it was lacking, and so wasn’t clear how to improve it. Feeling despondent, I recognised that I was probably quite saturated with it, and so opted to take a break from it for a few weeks and then return to it with a fresh head. It was during this period that I went to the cinema to see 20,000 Days on Earth. Turns out my timing couldn’t have been better.
20,000 Days on Earth
20,000 Days on Earth is a film by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard about the singer-songwriter Nick Cave. It’s ostensibly a part-fact/part-fiction biopic, exploring a fictional day-in-the-life of Cave as he goes about his business. However, it’s not the detail of Cave’s life that takes centre stage, but rather the intimacies of creativity itself. The film explores and captures the nature of the creative process, charting the evolution and shaping of an idea (in this case, a song) from its first tentative beginnings during a practise session, through to it being a finished work - in this instance, one that is eventually performed to a sell-out crowd at the Sydney Opera House. It’s a powerful reminder that finished works have humble beginnings, and do not necessarily emerge into the world in their final, polished form.
As an ardent Nick Cave fan I was of course enraptured by the behind-the-scenes expose the film provided. But it was the narrative accompanying one of the final scenes that had a transformative impact on me.
In his distinctive baritone, Cave mused:
“All of our days are numbered. We cannot afford to be idle. To act on a bad idea is better than to not act at all, because the worth of the idea never becomes apparent until you do it. Sometimes this idea can be the smallest thing in the world; a little flame that you hunch over and cup with your hand and pray will not be extinguished by all the storm that howls about it. If you can hold on to that flame, great things can be constructed around it, that are massive and powerful and world changing… all held up by the tiniest of ideas.”
At the time, this was exactly what I needed to hear. Cave’s words electrified me, adding renewed impetus to my desire to finish the book, and rekindling a spark of courage and determination to see it through. This flash of motivation then helped me to reconnect with the core purpose of the book, the difference I hoped it might make, and how it needed to be further shaped.
Over the coming months I reworked the text so as to have much more of a personal voice, to reflect my passion for the subject, my personal experience of coaching, and to actually try to reflect the principles of coaching in how I engaged the reader. Having done this, I eventually got to a stage where I felt ready to submit the improved manuscript.
As an ardent Nick Cave fan I was of course enraptured by the behind-the-scenes expose the film provided. But it was the narrative accompanying one of the final scenes that had a transformative impact on me.
In his distinctive baritone, Cave mused:
“All of our days are numbered. We cannot afford to be idle. To act on a bad idea is better than to not act at all, because the worth of the idea never becomes apparent until you do it. Sometimes this idea can be the smallest thing in the world; a little flame that you hunch over and cup with your hand and pray will not be extinguished by all the storm that howls about it. If you can hold on to that flame, great things can be constructed around it, that are massive and powerful and world changing… all held up by the tiniest of ideas.”
At the time, this was exactly what I needed to hear. Cave’s words electrified me, adding renewed impetus to my desire to finish the book, and rekindling a spark of courage and determination to see it through. This flash of motivation then helped me to reconnect with the core purpose of the book, the difference I hoped it might make, and how it needed to be further shaped.
Over the coming months I reworked the text so as to have much more of a personal voice, to reflect my passion for the subject, my personal experience of coaching, and to actually try to reflect the principles of coaching in how I engaged the reader. Having done this, I eventually got to a stage where I felt ready to submit the improved manuscript.
Seven years on
Coaching Psychology in Schools was published in November 2015. The book has now sold over 1000 copies, which is obviously a relatively modest amount (I won’t be purchasing a speedboat with the royalties any time soon), but I understand those numbers are good for a book of this type. It’s been well-reviewed in several publications, and I’ve received feedback from a number of people about how the book has been helpful to them – indeed, each time I hear such feedback it affirms that the effort and cost (in terms of time and emotional energy) was worth it. As well as sharpening and deepening my own learning about coaching psychology, the book now supports my endeavours to train other people in coaching skills, and has also been used by others as a text on their courses. The book is unquestionably a tiny contribution in the grand scheme of things, but it’s made a positive difference to some, and I’m very satisfied with that.
Reflections on creativity
So what is the message here? A central theme, for me, is that being an originator of an idea or product (whatever it may be) takes both courage and persistence. The creative process - while at times exhilarating and exciting - can be arduous, and ideas can be fragile in their emergent forms. However, those emergent stages are a necessary part of the evolution of the idea, and it is almost guaranteed that aspects of earlier versions will be discarded, shaped and learned from as the journey progresses. In the course of this process there is a danger that the flame may be too readily extinguished, either by our own premature evaluations or through fear of the judgements of others; however, if we are to see the process through to the end, then we need to be willing to hold on to our ideas, to protect them, and to allow them sufficient time and room to evolve. This can involve risk, and a willingness to make ourselves vulnerable. We will inevitably need to begin with an idea that has not yet been shaped through exposure to reality. But if we are willing to do this - if we are willing to ride the storm, to accept the lows as well as the highs - who knows where the journey will take us, and what may eventually arise from what began in the tiniest of forms?
I’m reminded of these lessons at the moment, at the beginning of this new academic year, since I have a number of creative endeavours waiting ahead of me – writing a book chapter, writing a journal article, further shaping our company, and developing new services that aim to make a difference to schools and young people through the application of psychology. As I begin to approach each of these challenges, I am reminded of the importance of taking action and allowing ideas to emerge and be shaped, and being willing to accept that the process may not be entirely painless. Nonetheless, it will be better to act and learn than to not act at all.
So if you have a desire or need to create – be it in terms of a book, a journal article, a project, a blog, a website, a University thesis, or to experiment with new ways of working to try to make a difference to others – whatever it may be, I wish you well as you attempt to protect and nurture the flame and see the idea through to completion. Who knows where that endeavour may lead?
As Cave wisely notes, our days are finite and numbered.
What do you want to do with yours?
I’m reminded of these lessons at the moment, at the beginning of this new academic year, since I have a number of creative endeavours waiting ahead of me – writing a book chapter, writing a journal article, further shaping our company, and developing new services that aim to make a difference to schools and young people through the application of psychology. As I begin to approach each of these challenges, I am reminded of the importance of taking action and allowing ideas to emerge and be shaped, and being willing to accept that the process may not be entirely painless. Nonetheless, it will be better to act and learn than to not act at all.
So if you have a desire or need to create – be it in terms of a book, a journal article, a project, a blog, a website, a University thesis, or to experiment with new ways of working to try to make a difference to others – whatever it may be, I wish you well as you attempt to protect and nurture the flame and see the idea through to completion. Who knows where that endeavour may lead?
As Cave wisely notes, our days are finite and numbered.
What do you want to do with yours?
Reference
20,000 Days on Earth. Pulse Films, 2014.
You can watch the final scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuu8Vb_evf
You can watch the final scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuu8Vb_evf