Stepping Off Now: Support for Neurodivergent Creatives

My sister is back! Jill Patterson, a competitive cyclist, is having a great year after experiencing a not-so-great one last year, and I invited her back on the podcast to talk about her recent big win and dealing with the ups and downs of racing. Our discussion encompasses the similarities and differences between the athletic and the creative life, and how we both handle the challenges associated with forging our own paths outside of conventional societal structures

If you've ever felt insecure or angry about the fact that putting your creative work out into the world often means commercializing it, and thus changing or diluting it, this episode is for you. I discuss that tension many artists feel between art as a joyful, and private, creative process and the cruel dictates of market constraints, but I take a different perspective: that those constraints can actually be used constructively, and lead to more joyful creative experiences. Making our art into a commercial product may not be the capitulation it can so often seem to be.

You've probably heard  somewhere along the way that what really holds us back is fear of success, not failure. I've never understood this, so in this episode I explore what it might mean and if it holds water. Stick around at the end of the episode for an update on how final edits are going on my novel, The Gentle History.

Here is the blog post I mention, by Donald Latumahina.

The episode I mention on how to judge your own creative work is #64

In the creative life you must learn to be your own biggest fan: that's what's required to come through the myriad challenges you will face along the way. In this episode I discuss why it matters so much that you become your own biggest fan as a creative or artist, and what that looks like.

You've probably heard it before, this admonition to trust the process. It's one of those things that's easy to say, but difficult to grasp. What is "the process," and how do we operationalize the concept of trusting it? In this episode I talk about process in a way you may not have heard before, and offer a suggestion for how to trust the process that will make you feel like you have a more active role in your path forward as a creative. I also discuss a recent experience I had of creative  failure, and why I think it's okay to feel like you've failed even when you know objectively that it's all part of the process.

In this episode I'm experimenting with something new: I've devised an exercise to help you figure out how to enjoy the process of reaching goals, not just the idea of reaching them. This exercise has a twofold purpose: to help you find more fulfillment and happiness in your day-to-day lives, and to help you develop internal motivation that is strong enough to keep you working toward goals past that initial burst of enthusiasm. This exercise is one I've done myself in various ways over the years in condensed form. I hope you find it useful in some way!

"How to Want Less," by Arthur C. Brooks (The Atlantic, February 2022).

Summer is a special time, and it calls for some special activities. In this episode I discuss why and how this summer is one of transition for me in terms of my identity and my creative activities! I also issue a challenge to any who are interested in taking it up, one I myself am participating in. Finally, I discuss a brand new project I'm taking on, one that is purely for pleasure. Let's sink into summer and make this one about taking it easy and having fun!

Our societal systems, including the public school system, are built to counteract subversive forces such as (too much) intellectual curiosity and creativity. We are socialized in ways of thinking and acting that run directly counter to the way creativity works. How can we begin to heal from the damage our formalized systems of learning do to our creative potential? By understanding that damage, and learning to sit with the paradoxes inherent in living within systems while seeking to transcend them through our art.  

How much time should you take to rest and digest, recover from stress, and adjust to loss? As much time as you need.

As I process the passing of my cat, Lucy, I contemplate why we so often fail to make the changes we need to in life: because change inevitably comes with loss. But change can also be used as a method of healing. Join me in this exploration of change, grief, and moving forward.