{"id":75728,"date":"2022-08-05T12:18:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T16:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=75728"},"modified":"2022-08-18T10:44:11","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T14:44:11","slug":"artist-blocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/artist-blocks\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Artist Block Real? Seth Godin Says No"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are artist blocks? Are they even real?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his book <em>The Practice<\/em>, Seth Godin disputes the claim that artists get <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcoming-creative-blocks\/\">creative blocks<\/a>. He says that it&#8217;s just you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/holding-yourself-back\/\">holding yourself back<\/a>, but you can overcome it by working every day on your creative project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continue reading to learn Godin&#8217;s take on artist blocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-artist-blocks\"><strong>Artist \u201cBlocks\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Godin maintains that \u201cwriter\u2019s block,\u201d or any kind of artist block, isn\u2019t real. Rather, it\u2019s a story we tell ourselves. For example, we might think, \u201cI\u2019m not Toni Morrison (or Mick Jagger, Renoir, Beyonce, or any other iconic artist). I don\u2019t have the time, the talent, or the luxury to sit around and create art. I can\u2019t keep staring at this blank page, I have to do the laundry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We all have a story about who we are and what we are (or aren\u2019t) capable of. However, rather than accept the story you tell yourself at face value, you have to ask yourself two questions, says Godin. First, does the story accurately reflect reality? (Is there reason to expect that you would be as good as a Pulitzer prize-winning author when you\u2019re first starting out?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, is your story helping you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/steps-to-achieve-your-goals\/\">achieve your goals<\/a>? (What matters more to you in the long run, the laundry or your long-neglected creative endeavor?) <strong>Godin claims that if the story you tell yourself isn\u2019t working for you, then you can change it.<\/strong> This is much easier than trying to change reality to fit your narrative. For example, you might tell yourself, \u201cI\u2019m still relatively new to this, and, like any other skill, I\u2019ll need to practice more before I learn how to do it well. If I invest a small amount of time every day, I\u2019ll learn to trust myself and I\u2019ll create something I\u2019m proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One benefit of a consistent practice is that you\u2019re working every day and constantly moving forward, so it\u2019s harder to get \u201cblocked.\u201d You create regardless of whether you want to or not, and regardless of whether you&#8217;re inspired. <strong>It\u2019s better to create something that\u2019s not great and work to improve it than it is to say you\u2019re stuck and not create anything at all.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Very few people create brilliant work from the start, according to Godin. All work is bad at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In fact, sharing \u201cbad\u201d work or ideas is essential to creating good work.<\/strong> Sharing work that\u2019s not good shows you that you can survive it and learn from it. (\u201cGood\u201d is very hard to define in any event, says Godin. Many best-selling books and movies were rejected repeatedly before they found success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: While artist blocks might not technically be \u201creal,\u201d they\u2019re psychologically real, a point Godin is getting at in his discussion of how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/rewriting-your-story\/\">rewrite your narrative<\/a>. They may have their roots in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/counseling-keys\/201907\/three-emotional-blocks-creativity\">perfectionism, fear, or even bitterness and greed<\/a>. Because they\u2019re unique to each individual, methods for dealing with them also vary from one person to the next. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/creating-in-flow\/201209\/10-creative-block-breakers-actually-work\">Some ideas that do the trick for working creatives<\/a> include: 1) Come up with a list of 20 possible next moves, so your brain isn\u2019t so laser-focused on making the one perfect move; 2) Draw or write messily or blindly for a bit to permit yourself to make mistakes; or 3) Take notes when you have creative blocks to see if there\u2019s a trend\u2014maybe it\u2019s as simple as not getting enough sleep the night before.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are artist blocks? Are they even real? In his book The Practice, Seth Godin disputes the claim that artists get creative blocks. He says that it&#8217;s just you holding yourself back, but you can overcome it by working every day on your creative project. Continue reading to learn Godin&#8217;s take on artist blocks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":8803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,42,43],"tags":[718],"class_list":["post-75728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-motivation","category-self-improvement","tag-the-practice","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Artist Block Real? Seth Godin Says No - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you stuck on a creative project? You may think you&#039;re experiencing an artist block, but you just need to be more dedicated. 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