43. 3 ways to redefine creative success

And why fixating on goals prevents you from actually reaching them

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Ironically, intense focus on goals or outcomes can impede our progress toward those very things. And I’ve found this is especially true of creative goals. Sometimes, we need to first redefine success in order to unstick ourselves. 

This post will offer you three questions to arrive at alternative definitions of creative success, told through a few personal anecdotes. I hope you can relate! 

Creative success as returning…and returning and returning

So the first question to consider as an alternative definition of creative success is: 

What practice can I return to that will help me make progress? 

In 2022 I decided to write a novel. I’ve been a writer practically my whole life in various ways both professionally and artistically, but I always told myself that I didn’t have the discipline to finish something as long and involved as a novel. And if I wasn’t going to finish it, what was the point of trying to start it? 

This logic short-circuited my efforts for a long time until one day I decided to interrogate that belief. Why couldn’t I write a novel? I knew, objectively, I had the skills, thanks to my education and literal decades of creative writing experience. And I had no deadline. But what I didn’t have was a workable definition of creative and artistic success. My definition, unconscious to that point, was “finishing a novel”...which was stopping me from ever even starting to write a novel. 

And then I had a little lightbulb moment. 

Relevant tangent: I first tried meditating maybe 6 or 7 years ago during a particularly stressful point in my life. For about a month, I would lie in bed at night listening to a gentle Nyquil voice guide me through basic body scans and breathing exercises. While I was attempting to quiet my mind and open my awareness, I remember two distinct and consistent impressions: 

1. “Now that I’m paying attention to my body, wow, it’s really freaking me out that I’m just a highly temporary bag of meat.” 

2. “My thoughts keep coming back… I’m so bad at this!”

Convinced I was “doing it wrong” and with a serious case of the existential icks, I stopped practicing pretty quickly. Mindfulness apparently just wasn’t for me! 

But then, during the early pandemic—another particularly stressful point in almost everybody’s life—I read the classic The Power of Now and decided to try meditating again. 

This time, I used a different app to guide me, and a new soporific voice told me that “good” meditation isn’t the absence of thought forever and ever and unto ages of ages, amen. Rather, successful meditation is returning to a clear mind when thoughts inevitably occur. The practice is returning to a state of empty awareness when you get distracted, again and again and again. That is, in fact, why it’s called a practice. 

Ah-ha! I wasn’t bad at meditation; in fact, I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing. And, obviously, by continuing to “fail” and try again and actually practice over time, I got better at clearing my mind, having fewer thoughts and feelings, and returning to a state of empty awareness for longer periods. 

All it took was a new definition of success that allowed me to move forward and make real progress. 

Cut back to: Me writing a novel. I decided to define success in this creative endeavor the same way I was taught to view meditation: returning. I told myself that word count didn’t matter. The number of days a week I wrote didn’t matter. Taking big gaps in the writing process didn’t matter. The only thing that counted for me was that I returned to the work, returned to writing, again and again. Every time I sat down to write, whether I only wrote 5 words or I hadn’t touched the manuscript in a month, I told myself, “Yes! I did it. Another win.” 

Rewarding myself for the act of returning became a virtuous cycle. My brain got a little dopamine hit every time I sat down to work—not only when I finished a chapter or hit another 10,000 words—which kept me coming back and back and back. And when I continuously put myself in the position of returning to the work, go figure that it was more likely that I did the work! 

I did indeed finish the novel. Now, I’m in the process of submitting it to literary agents to find representation—a grueling, drawn-out process filled with mostly rejection. But again, I’m defining success as continuing to submit to agents, not finding one. It keeps me focused on what I can do to actually progress rather than feeling discouraged. (Also if anyone wants to refer me to a literary agent, get at me!)

Creative success as “firsts”

If you’re mourning a lack of progress or inability to hit a goal in one particular practice or media, maybe ask yourself: 

What creative pursuit, technique, or skill could I attempt for the first time? 

I really love arts and crafts. Over the years, I’ve taken jewelry-making and pottery classes, and I taught myself how to embroider and paint with watercolors. Next, I want to try some basic glass blowing or lampwork. 

Am I especially talented at any of these media? No. Am I doggedly pursuing fame in one or several visual arts disciplines? Mmm, definitely no! Will my watercolors ever be shown in a gallery or my jewelry sold for profit? Doubtful. 

But do all of these things help make my creative life richer and more meaningful? Absolutely. 

Going out and trying a new creative endeavor for the first time is another way to define success. But there are also lots of ways to try new things in a medium you already know. For example, even though I am familiar with watercolors, I still pursue “firsts,” like the first time I painted a landscape and not just florals, the first time I painted using the grisaille technique, the first time I painted a portrait, etc. So you don’t necessarily have to pick up a whole new hobby! If you’re a poet, try a new form. If you’re a graphic artist, try a new design program. 

When we concentrate on success as “firsts,” we ensure that we’re learning additional skills and techniques or exploring new disciplines that could be rewarding, meaningful, or just plain delightful. 

Creative success as impact

If you’ve got some kind of creator’s block and you can’t make progress, maybe ask yourself: 

What could I create that would positively impact someone I care about?

I’ve been very lucky to have people around me in my life who encourage my creative pursuits. They express enthusiasm and interest when I talk about my projects, and they are grateful (or at least act like it!) when a painting or poem or embroidery comes their way from me. 

Because the thing about creative pursuits is that you’re always, inherently, making stuff. And especially if you’re like me and you live in an apartment with limited space, and especially-especially if you’re making physical things and not digital things, you run out of room for paintings and pots pretty fast. 

I don’t make a lot of things that I don’t give away. And often, I make things with particular people in mind. Now, when I visit my friends and family, I see my watercolors on their walls or fridges. I like knowing that they have these little monuments to my affection for them. I like feeling connected to and present in their lives, even when I’m far away. And their excitement and appreciation for them is a reward in and of itself that keeps me creating. 

Over to you…

What other ways have you redefined what creative success means to you? Or have you ever caught yourself getting hung up on a goal to the exclusion of making progress? Let’s hear about it!

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We were honored to chat with Marcos Rivera from Pricing I/O about the intersection of brand and pricing…and why creativity is becoming increasingly important for businesses that want to be premium!

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Kumbaya,
Shannon & Kevan