The Stakes Couldn't Be Lower

Don't let your creative projects make you anxious. Remember, unless you're a professional, this is all about your well-being: learning and practicing something that makes you a better person. It's supposed to be an all-upside proposition.

If, like me, you find yourself in creative ruts, you'll be tempted to dig further into the rut. You'll wonder what others think. You'll feel like you're failing. Now, you're creating stress out of thin air. And for what?

In these moments, I've started repeating this mantra: "The stakes couldn't be lower."

The greatest consequence of your creative failure is learning what not to do in the future. You'll try to convince yourself it's about losing followers (followers you lose easily are not really followers) or losing the respect of those you respect (people don't think about you nearly as much as you think they do).

No, the greatest consequence is learning. It's a pretty sweet deal, actually.