You're not talented, that's a good thing.
I was the kid in high school who always had his camera with him and filmed and photographed all the events. I used to spend hours after each event editing the videos and posting them on Instagram.Amongst my peers I was "that guy."
I had a reputation within this micro ecosystem of being the film guy.
I decided to apply to film school. I got in and by September I was sitting in my first class in NYC. Everyone showed the films they had made, and they were amazing.
That's when reality hit. I went from being a big fish in a small pond, to being a krill in the ocean. There will always be a bigger fish, no matter what you do.
You are not special. You are not as talented as you think.
It took me years to understand this but its liberating.
You believe that holding the idea that you are something special is a superpower but in reality it is your kryptonite-
Perfection Paralysis
You think you are super talented so you have to wait for the perfect conditions to actually do any work because you have this fear-
"Everything I need to do needs to be brilliant."
So you never end up taking the first step.
Inflexible Identity
You have dug your nails into this notion of being talented.
You are holding onto this part of your identity so tightly that you completely avoid anything that can help you from growing.
You are scared to make mistakes or take risks, because if you mess up you will break this perception of yourself. You avoid the necessary discomfort that is attached to growth.
Talented athletes fail to perform and lose out because they skip the fundamental training required to build their base while others work and artists who think they are special never produce any work because they refuse to do the "boring" work.
The notion of being special has trapped you in this invisible cage.
You can't take risks, you can't put out imperfect work and you always have this insane pressure to prove yourself.
The irony of this whole thing? You can't do the work. You can't do anything consistently.
Think of the last time you were able to consistently put out work?
You need to get rid of this idea of being special and embrace that you are just another person who needs to pay their dues.
You are ordinary and you should embrace it. It's an edge.
How?
This allows you to adopt the "Training Mindset."
During the lockdown in 2020 I picked up calisthenics and wanted to achieve handstands, planches and all these insane movements.
Every video,article, athlete friend told me one thing- drill the basics.
Pushups, Dips and Pull ups.
That's all I did, over and over again.
Sure I threw in a couple attempts of hand stands and whatnot in there.
I failed.
But I knew what my weak points were. Maybe it was my pushing strength or my flexibility but I knew.
Even now in my bodybuilding arc. I don't expect to put up numbers every session. Somedays I just go in and train.
Your creative work also demands the same.
Honestly, adopting this training mindset with my work has actually pushed me to be a better artist.
I have systems in place, I am able to write, shoot, and conceptualise on a daily basis
Your efforts are like "deposits"
No one achieved great things in their life by laying in their bed. You have to put in the work. The more work you put in the better you become.
Every rep, weight, sprint, painting, piece of writing you do-
The more you level up.
Think of it like a video game. The more hours you are going to put in the better you will be at the game.
Each "deposit" that you put in to your practice:
Leads to a new neural pathway being created. That means you build the capacity to produce better work
You build resilience- you don't instantly receive gratification. None of that cheap dopamine that runs the world. You show up everyday knowing eventually it will pay off
Showing up everyday leads to the creation of systems that supports you making quality work consistently
You might now see it now, but this compounding effect over days, months and years powerful.
Every Artist is a bodybuilder
Consistency > talent
If I section out 2 hours of everyday to sit down and work on scripts I am writing I will produce a huge volume of work each one better than the one before versus the guy who only writes when motivation strikes.
I really believe that any work should be treated like working out. All the principals that are applied to training should be applied.
Progressive overload- In order for a muscle to grow the weight has to be increased. Similarly start somewhere but slowly increase the complexity and the challenge that your work presents.
Focus on weak points- A bodybuilder must look himself in the mirror and objectively evaluate what his weak points are- rear delts, upper chest, calves (yeah ofc it is trust me same). Similarly look at your own work What needs to be improved, don't hide from it.
Recovery periods- You need to schedule breaks, otherwise you WILL BURNOUT. People think muscles grow in the gym when you workout. It's actually when you sleep and rest is when the actual growth happens.
Track everything- What gets measured gets managed.I log everything. My food, my lifts, my steps, my daily weight, everything. You need to document everything. Document your creative outputs and see what needs to be changed. What strategy needs to be implemented.
Play the game-Analyse and adapt
Gamify the whole thing. You need to have fun, otherwise what's the point.
Don't rage quit the game if nothing is working.
Look at the problem in front of you, analyse it, change your tactics.
Just don't blame the game. You wanted to play this. So enjoy each and every aspect of it
Something isn't working? Okay let's fix it
You've been tracking your habits, so you know what is productive, what moves the needle and what doesn't.
I have 3 work blocks in a day. Last week I realised the first work block which is usually my most productive one hasn't been delivering. My daily output was down.
The reason? Living at home, the household routine is chaotic, too much noise.
The solution- wake up after the chaos, move my morning cardio to the evening and maintain the rest of the day.
Life, training and work isn't linear. Embrace the level up. Shit is getting harder because you're getting better at the game. You just need to be good at analysing the situation-see what is and what isn't working and change the plan.
The idea of talent and being "special" needs to be removed from your brain. Don't wait for someone to give you the 'perfect' opportunity for you-
-Create consistently
-Track your daily habits and how you create
-Embrace the training mindset
-Document the changes
-Adjust for depending on output
"Don't however worry about your individual potential. Potential is only the expression of a possibility, something that can only be assessed accurately in retrospect. In other words, you'll never know how good you might have become, unless you try."
-Mike Mentzer