I spend a lot of my time searching for answers — in books, in podcasts, in webinars and talks, in formal lessons, in quiz results, in music, and in many of the everyday conversations I have.
The answers are responses to questions that I may have explicitly asked — such as, “Aaaah, why am I still comparing myself to so many other creators?” Or they may be answers to questions I didn’t even know to ask — such as, “Why do I immediately assume that I know less (or am less) than other creators?”
I feel like it’s good — and healthy, even — for us as creators to be constantly curious about the world, and for us to not assume that we know or have the answers to everything. I really like Bill Nye’s philosophy that, “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” It reminds us to value and respect those around us, and reminds us that abundant opportunities to learn (and the answers we seek!) are everywhere.
But… the constant search can get exhausting, especially if it’s on autopilot. Often, I don’t realize that I’ve been searching a book for answers about my life until I find myself highlighting or underlining a certain passage with the notion that, “Yes, this will solve all of my problems, finally!” … And it was supposed to be a book I was reading for fun.
I also wonder whether, in bowing to others’ expertise, we may sometimes diminish our own. Recently, I’ve found myself vigorously nodding and taking notes during a podcast episode or webinar, only to later realize that I’ve tried that method, and found via my own experience that it doesn’t really work — or that it’s great in theory but completely unrealistic in practice.
So I’ve become curious — how much truth comes from our own work/experience/action-taking… and how many of the answers we seek are already within ourselves?
Words & warmth,
Sarah