Keep the door to irrationality open by a tiny crack

From a psychological perspective, it’s wise to assume that making ourselves feel upset is the downstream effect of a strongly held irrational belief.

That is the source code that almost always accompanies unhealthy negative feelings. And learning how to substitute more realistic preferences for irrational demands is a key tenet of positive mental health.

But as we know, extremes in anything accomplish nothing. Which means there are moments in our lives when we need to throw lucidity to the wind and bypass the scrutiny of our logical minds.

Hell, human beings are fundamentally irrational anyway. And so, maybe there’s a way to program ourselves for higher levels of fulfillment than we currently enjoy.

Maybe irrationality can be channeled to get the results we want.

Consider the courageous choice to embark on a new creative endeavor. You spend hundreds and hundreds of unpaid hours creating something nobody needs or wants. You forge ahead under the flawed and baseless belief that your new project will actually gain traction.

Tell me that’s not a fundamentally irrational act. That kind of life defies logic. Figuring things out has no place in creative growth, it’s mostly instinct. And logic is the illusion that defies instinct.

This is the thing we have to remember about dreams. We can’t apply logic to them because the world of inspiration doesn’t follow that dynamic. Sometimes, we have to accept that irrationality is just another tool in the kit. One that can be deployed judiciously to get what we want.

Look, most creative professionals spend their days alone in a room with nothing but their minds to rely on. And most of them will attest, you have to be a little deluded to stay motivated. Because if you can’t delude yourself into thinking your work is significant, you should find another career.

If you don’t have an ability to exaggerate the importance of what you’re doing, you won’t generate enough momentum to lift off. If you don’t irrationally believe that this piece of junk you’re creating is the greatest thing that ever was, you’re finished.

It’s grandiose, but it’s part of the job description. Particularly at the beginning of a new creative project, you have to stop trying to fight against your irrational self and let the crazy own you.

You have to lower the volume of your logical brain, put whimsy on wheels and take action on your intuitive leads.

How will you know when you’re being delusional, and when everyone else is wrong and they just can’t see yet?