Conversation Pit 003: On Creative Jealousy
I got a couple of responses asking to expand on Creative Jealousy.
Musings from the Notes app
A friend of a friend posted about their recent creative project. In one quick swipe, your doom-scrolling is interrupted.
“Ugh,” you think to yourself. “This isn’t even well done.”
“I’m not a [insert craft here] but I could surely do better than this.”
I often find myself in this thought pattern.
Seeing others share their work makes me feel some type of way.
But I’ve noticed that I only feel this way when a certain genre of person shares their work—specifically, people I consider myself “a better creative” than.
I don’t ever think like this when I see someone who’s a more “qualified” creative than me posts their work.
As if I and my work are the measuring stick by which I should judge myself.
But actually… this is kind of true.
Not in the egotistical sense, but in the “this is my ego interrupting my thought pattern” sense.
Let me elaborate.
I realized that I only get jealous when people who I deem less creative than me are acting on their creativity. Perhaps this is my subconscious telling me that I’m not living up to my own creative potential.
That I somehow feel threatened when someone else is stealing the metaphorical spotlight.
“That should be my work people are hyping up.”
There’s nothing inherently bad about this thought process, but it’s a dangerous pattern to fall into.
Jealousy is akin to self-doubt.
By focusing on others’ work, we take away valuable time and effort we should be spending on our own work. We end up subtly telling ourselves we’re not worthy of the output we’re seeing from others.
In reality, we need to surrender ourselves to the work itself.
It sounds heady, but the work will be manifested in some way shape or form. The “collective creative consciousness,” as some would call it, will find another shepherd for the idea. Likely multiple.
This requires a perspective shift, which is a constant struggle. But you get better at it over time. I am not my idea. I am my output. I am not the hype or reaction. I am my discipline and dedication to the creative act.
I’ve learned to process my thoughts of creative jealousy and let them be a sign that I should put my phone away and my head back down. Into the work I’ve been putting off.
I suggest you do too.
In other news…
I—more accurately, my mouth—was featured in GQ.
Emily Sundberg wrote about Generation Zyn—how the brand and product expanded out of its perceived niche (finance bros and frat guys) into a more diverse set of ‘users.’
It’s a thought-provoking read, with its throughline being productivity and a decrease in vaping nationwide.
There’s a lot of anti-productivity rhetoric these days (mostly as a response to hustle culture), and I understand the sentiment. But I think we need to explore the nuance.
Productivity isn’t bad. Not establishing work boundaries is bad. Being productive for the sake of it doesn’t serve anyone. Not even yourself. It just strokes your ego.
But work, when its meant to service your soul, is good. And that type of work is art. Whatever feeds your inner child and brings you joy. Or, in some artists’ cases, gives you an outlet for expression.
You can read the full GQ article here: https://www.gq.com/story/how-zyn-conquered-the-american-mouth
You can also buy the print edition (!!) in stores.