The shit stage

I think one of the key traits of productive creatives is a comfortability with shit work.

The pro knows that shitty drafts are part of the cycle.

Each of their projects went through a stage where it was really poor for a while.

But they didn’t panic, they didn’t quit, they kept plugging away at it until it became better.

Now if the idea doesn’t appear fully formed to the amateur they abandon the idea.

If the good idea, when fleshed out, starts to feel a bit shit the amateur goes for a coffee and never comes back.

The amateur is great for notions and far fetched concepts but can never get past that shitty draft stage. They can never push through and turn the idea into a reality.

Even though it can feel like their skin is crawling the pro sits there with the discomfort.

Not running, not hiding but embracing the mental torture.