aggressively sips coffee while arranging psychology textbooks by how much they piss off my inner critic
So I had a chat with a buddy of mine about art and that whole creative thing we subject ourselves to.
It’s something we do because we have to do it and without it we feel meh.
Your brain is basically a three-pound meat computer running on old software, and it’s constantly trying to convince you that you can’t do the thing until you FEEL like doing the thing.
WELL, GUESS WHAT? YOUR BRAIN IS A LYING LIAR WHO LIES.
Let me break this down for you with the subtlety of a wrecking ball hopped up on crack.
You know how everyone’s waiting for their “muse” to show up?
Like some magical creativity fairy is gonna sprinkle inspiration-cocaine over your keyboard?
WRONG.
Dead wrong. Corpse-in-the-ground wrong.
The secret sauce is this and also hear me out…
You do the thing first, and your brain catches up later. It’s like psychological parkour, except you’re not going to risk not landing and fall on your face.
When you sit your ass in that chair every day and write/paint/compose, even when your brain is screaming “BUT I DON’T WANNA,” something magical happens.
Your meat computer goes “Oh shit, we’re doing this anyway? Guess I better get on board.”
It’s called cognitive dissonance and it controls us a lot of the time.
Your brain can’t handle the disconnect between “I’m not a real writer” and “But I’m writing every day,” so it adjusts its reality to match your actions. It’s like gaslighting yourself, but in a good way.
Want proof? Look at any successful artist’s routine.
They don’t wait for inspiration
They don’t listen to their inner critic
They just show up and do the work, like they’re punching their timecard at some twisted creativity factory.
Your brain is basically a habit-forming machine running on whatever you feed it. Feed it consistent behaviour, and it’ll rewire itself to match.
That’s not me talking that’s SCIENCE.
Neuroplasticity is a pretty new-ish thing that’s caught on in the last few years. It’s like your brain is a mosh pit where neurons go to party but it’s the party that lasts 24/7/365 until you die.
So here’s your prescription from Dr. Stephen (not a real doctor, just a pantless writer with loud opinions and it sounds cool for dramatic effect)
1. Show up every day
2. Do the work
3. Let your feelings catch up whenever they damn well please
4. Repeat until you die or achieve immortality through your art
The muse isn’t coming to save you. The inspiration fairy is passed out in a ditch somewhere. It’s just you, your tools, and the daily practice of telling your brain “We’re doing this whether you like it or not, sir”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go write 2,000 words while my brain throws a tantrum about wanting to watch cat videos instead.
Stephen Walker
The Power of Neuroplasticity by Shad Helmstetter, PhD.
P.S. If anyone tells you they only create when inspired, they’re either lying or they’re not creating enough to matter.
P.P.S. The squirrels are still government spies, but that’s unrelated to this post. Probably, or is it?