Spiral up instead of downward

One of the traps artists fall victim to is comparing their current project with their previous work.

We remember all those mistakes, failures and rejections from the last time we attempted to do execute something like this, and the shame weighs us down. Our memories crush our confidence and slow our momentum. If you’ve ever stumbled through this state before, welcome to the club. It sucks.

Heraclitus, the great stoic philosopher, originated the saying, you cannot step in the same creative river twice. He observed that since ever new waters were continually flowing on, change was inevitable. For it’s not the same river and you’re not the same man.

The meditation was later adopted by many of his philosophical successors, who added comments like, all things are always in flux, all entities move and nothing remains still, the only constant is change, and so on.

The image of the river is a powerful metaphor for the creative process. It’s a reminder that downward spirals are difficult to get out of. That’s why it’s important to cut them off at the pass.

There’s a useful tool in personal creativity management called intercepting, which is when you lovingly step into your worry stream with a sense wonder to buffer against unhealthy behavior.

This therapeutic intervention can be a godsend. It can help build mindfulness in otherwise impetuous moments.

Say you’re negatively comparing your current project to something you did years ago. Feeling the positive energy drain out of your body.

Intercept your critical self. Knowing that it’s not the same river and you’re not the same man, ask these questions:

With the new perspective you’ve gained since last time, how might you approach your work differently to be more efficient today?

How might you approach this problem you’re are having with more mature and experienced eyes?

Simply pausing and reflecting on how you are different and better than last time does wonders for your confidence.

Now, if you’re not big on questions, here is another way to use the tool of interception.

At the moment of doubt and shame, try inserting some of your favorite quotations. Literally have them queued up on your phone to access at any time.

There’s a passage from a personal development book that always does it for me. Beck writes:

A spiral is always growing, yet never covering the same ground, not merely an explanation of the past, but it’s also a prophecy of the future. While it defines and illuminates what has already happened, it is also leading constantly to new discoveries.

Those words remind me that whatever project I’m working on, I can’t step in the same river twice. For it’s not the same river and I’m not the same man.

Hell, I’ve launched hundreds of products and services in my entrepreneurial career. Some were profitable, others were money pits. Some are embarrassing to go back and look at now, while others stand the test of time.

But all of them mattered. All of them were practice for something else down the road. There was nothing that didn’t contribute to the upward spiral of creative journey.

Do you accept and forgive your past work in that way? If so, then that’s going to serve your work well next time the shame comes crashing in and tries to derail your progress.

Remember, we can’t benchmark normal in the past. History yields to instinct.

When in doubt, try a little interception.

Surrender to the past and spiral up instead of downward.

What if you believed that that was then and this is now?