The Thursday! Newsletter 2-10: What Do You Expect To Do this Year?
Volume 2, Issue 10
I'd like to talk about expectations this week.
First, though, let me give full credit to my friend and quite impressive creative wonder Sarah Werner whose "Dear Creators" newsletter gave me most of what I'm going to write just as soon as I quit praising her, which may take another sentence or three. You can -- and should -- subscribe to "Dear Creators" because it is not only useful and beautifully-written, but is also one of the rare newsletters that isn't setting you up for a big "buy my cool product now!" pitch all the way at the end. That's not to say Sarah doesn't have stuff you can buy -- her Podcast Now course will set you up very nicely for success in the podcasting world -- but she creates the attention of her readers with care and respect. That is uncommon in the newsletter world and Sarah has earned my trust roughly a bazillion times over.
So. Now. Let's start with a question about you and your creativity. It's going to look simple but we are talking about expectations and that will complicate matters. Never fear, though. We'll sort it out. Here, then, is the question: What particular acts of intentional creativity do you want to commit in 2022? If you like, you may just as easily ask: What do you want to make on purpose, in 2022? They work out the same way, though one may "hit" you a bit differently than the other.
I ask because the strongest influences that press on us over the course of the year are the expectations that press upon us, whether we put them on our backs or we let someone else load us up. Every year, year upon year, we carry great sacks full of things we should do, are supposed to do, and are not supposed to do along with exactly how we are to do all those things (or not). We must be a good example. We may create, but not boast. We may create, but secretly. We must not create certain stories or certain music. We must not create as our primary means of earning a living. Creation can not be our profession. It can not be our calling. Or maybe it can, but only once we've done something else in life, like worked a full career or raised children all the way to adulthood. When we're young, other people put those expectations and limits on us. Most of the folks who did that meant very well. They were trying to set us up for success in the best way they knew how. They had their own experiences with life that taught them lessons they didn't want us to have to learn. Sometimes they did well by us. Sometimes they didn't. Now here we are, full-grown adults, trying to make our own way the best way we can and we're still carrying the restrictions and hopes and dreams someone else put on us decades ago.
But let's not take ourselves off the hook here. We shouldered our own expectations, too. We tried to ace every test because "doing my best" means perfection. Or, we put on a heavy cloak of indifference because if we tried and failed, that would hurt, so let's not try very hard at all. We dared and failed and expected never, ever to succeed. We wanted so hard to dare, but we couldn't quite convince our trembling legs to take the first step into uncertainty, and then expected our stability to make us happy. We walked around with a chip on our shoulder because so many people thought we would surely fail and we expected our successes to fulfill the critic in our hearts. We should have been more by now, should have done more by now, should have stepped from the shadows, climbed into the light, created wonderful things that would change the world or brighten a soul. We should have gotten the reward we were promised for being quiet and dutiful and strong.
We have expectations but...why? Are they serving us? Do they make us better, or smarter, or wiser? Do they make us happier. Do we serve those around us better for having them? Are we (should you subscribe to this belief) better children of God?
Only you can answer these questions for yourself and only you can remove the expectations that don't work for you any longer and take on new ones that suit you, your life, and your calling better. I'd like you to do that sooner rather than later. Life is short and the world is hard. You can make your part of things better and brighter when you are free to do what you're meant to do in the way you're meant to do it. That means sorting out expectations. Might as well start now, right?
I will if you will. Let's see what we can do.
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What I Wrote Last Week
"The Windmill: A Meeting in One Voice" is one half of a conversation, and the only half we need.
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