Do you have a project sitting in the back of your mind that you haven't started yet? I do!
I'm not going to tell you what it is, partly because it's not ready to be spoken out loud, and partly because I think most creative people know exactly the project I'm talking about without me having to name mine. I'm sure you have one too. The idea that keeps returning no matter how many times you set it aside. The one that feels more personal than anything else you've made, more exposed, more likely to fail in a way that would cost you in a significant way.
You think you're not ready for it, but you might be more ready than you think.
Fear is a reliable indicator in creative work, but it points in two directions, and you have to learn to read which one it's signaling. Sometimes fear means stop. The project isn't right, the timing isn't right, something needs more development before it's ready to be made.
But sometimes fear means go.
It means you're standing at the edge of something that matters enough to be a bit scary and uncertain, something that has the potential to be the most significant work you've done, if you can find the courage to begin it.
The project that scares you most is usually the one that has the most of you in it. Which means it's the one that has the most to give.
I'm working up to it. Maybe you are too.
Maybe we both just need permission to admit it's there to muster the courage to take that first step.
Is there a creative project you've been afraid to start? One that keeps coming back no matter how many times you set it aside? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
