doing.

Last updated on 2 May 2020

“If you want to be successful, it’s just this simple. Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing.” Will Rogers 

Doer.

It is an esteemed moniker in my home. There is a longstanding joke between my wife, Elin, and me over which of us accomplishes more and which of us thinks more. Though it is not even really close. She wins in the doing department hands down. Every time.

It’s not that I don’t get things done. It’s just that the scales between us are tipped in opposite directions.

I’ve always admired about Elin and I find so endearing how relentless she is about moving forward. She runs a successful, growing one-person interior design business, works out every day, manages my two teen-age stepchildren’s affairs and engages with them authentically, cooks often, and does the bulk of the work around the house.

Me? I like to think of myself as an evolved male; while most of managing our household falls on Elin’s shoulders, I help clean, shop, run errands, cook, chauffeur. But my contribution is SUBSTANTIALLY LESS than hers. To her credit, she notices my efforts even though we both know she does more.

I like to think of myself as an evolved male. But my contribution is SUBSTANTIALLY LESS than hers.

There is no better lift I get than when my wife calls me “Doer.” I realize it is somewhat of a sideways compliment, but a compliment nevertheless.

I am thinking about what “doing” means outside of our home, too. I run my own growing real estate business, this blog, and I’m developing a new podcast, as well as taking the lead on car and home maintenance projects.

I’m reminded of Yoda’s missive to young Luke Skywalker when he fails to lift his X-wing fighter out of the swamp: “Do or do not. There is no try.” 

The difference between the Pollocks, the Liebovitz’s, the Spielberg’s and Gladwell’s and the rest of us is….doing.

This, it turns out, is true in creative endeavors too. In Creative Calling by Chase Jarvis, a manual for creativity for the rest of us, the author contends that we are each naturally creative. A universe of creativity is inside us, intrinsic, naturally born. The difference between the Pollocks, the Liebovitz’s, the Spielberg’s and Gladwell’s and the rest of us is….doing.

Jarvis says there is an important distinction between thinking about creative activities and doing creativity. My “weakness” has been my tendency to spend a lot of time thinking about things and making them perfect in my head–an essay, calls to real estate prospects, cutting the grass or washing the car–allowing the distraction of thinking about doing rather than actually doing. 

You’ve got to do the verb to be the noun.

“Creators create,” he says. “Action is identity. You become what you do. You don’t need permission from anybody to call yourself a writer, entrepreneur, or musician. You just need to write, build a business or make music. You’ve got to do the verb to be the noun.” 

According to Jarvis, a lot is lost in translation between the thinking and the doing, a kind of chasm where the distance between the two results most of the time in the death of so much creating. We spend so much time rearranging our desks, checking Instagram, getting tea, whatever we can to NOT DO our creative thing.  The big reason? Fear. 

“Fear is a gift, a precious instinct. Your primitive reptile brain is there to protect you and keep you alive. You can’t reason with it; it learns through action…What you’re really hearing is fear doing a table read. Your brain is just rehearsing lines from old scripts written by hacks, and the more you listen, the louder it gets. Ignore it. Write your own script.”

Action is the most significant driver in any creative endeavor. It doesn’t matter if it’s the tiniest of actions. A couple paint strokes, a sentence or two, one photo. Consistent, repeatable, small steps yield mighty results. As Anne Lamott, author of Bird By Bird, one of the best books on writing, notes,  “You have to write a lot of shitty first drafts” to get to the good stuff and it’s those shitty first drafts that seem to scare so many would-be creatives away, including me.  In fact, when I sit down to make concrete any essay, I always ask myself, “does this contribute anything to the Universal conversation?” Unfortunately much of the time the editor in my head says “no,” and my idea is left by the road. But now I wonder if it isn’t my fear about not measuring up, about the arrogance of declaring myself a writer, of putting myself out there that stops me. 

This notion has had an impact on how I now approach my creative endeavors too, thanks to Chase Jarvis.  He urges us to do something creative everyday. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant it may be. Over time, he says, we can develop the very creative habits that lead to completed creative works.

I don’t know if adopting an all around doing attitude will help re-balance the scales with Elin but hearing “doer” around our house more often sure sounds nice.