Figuring out what you want to say is a difficult thing for a number of reasons, and many folks simply avoid it all together. They may rely on copying someone else’s project or recipe. They may jump from medium to medium as a way of avoiding going deep, or they may simply continue doing what they’re doing feeling like something is missing. We can spend a lot of time perfecting our craft or jumping from one thing to another, but at some point we have to start figuring out why we do what we do and what we are trying to say, convey, or mean.
Fear and judgment, though, can quickly keep us from moving forward as we judge ourselves and our ideas and fear revealing too much. That little voice can pop up telling us that we’re not good enough, that our ideas are lousy, that we have no business trying to say anything meaningful, or that we’re revealing something much too personal about ourselves. The feeling of vulnerability can quickly quash any attempt to go deep. But without going deep and trying to share something truthful and meaningful, our creative work will ring hollow and won’t connect very well with people. They may like our technique and applaud our effort, but it won’t really move them. They will never be able to see or feel themselves in our work.
So how do we figure out what we want to say?
The answer to this may be closer than we think, and I can’t help thinking of that old saying, “You are what you eat.” But if we broaden this out a bit, we can change it slightly to “You are what you CONSUME.” We consume a lot more than just food. We consume movies, tv, music, books, products, podcasts, blogs, and so much more. We live in a consumer culture, and we buy, watch, read, and listen to things that reflect our tastes. The things that we consume can actually hold the key to what we want to say. Since we consume so much, I like to narrow it down to a few things that can hold the keys to unlocking what our tastes are, and that in turn can unlock what we want to say.