This is keeping you from becoming great
I’ve shared before that creatives should stop trying to be impressive.
But it’s important to say that this doesn’t mean we should stop trying to be great. I would argue that it’s difficult to grow into greatness if we focus on being impressive.
Being impressive is about appearances. Being great is about substance.
I would go so far as to say that focusing on impressing others can hinder our growth in two ways.
Here is a personal story illustrating the first way impressiveness can sabotage greatness.
I’ve recently started at a new gym. One of the things I love about this gym is that a few of my friends go, and I’m developing some new friendships, too.
In the past, I’ve worked out alone.
The thought of working out with other people made me nervous because I’m not a very athletic person. I didn’t grow up playing sports and don’t have any training in how to work out properly.
I’ve wanted to get into weightlifting for a while, but my inexperience as a thirty-six-year-old dude makes me feel insecure.
And I still feel insecure. The coaches at my gym come by and correct my form often. On top of that, our gym tracks everyone’s heart rate and displays them on the screens. It’s a way to gauge your workout, and it gamifies each workout because you’re supposed to get your heart rate to certain levels at different parts of the workout. My heart rate is consistently the fastest in the group and flashes bright orange for all to see. It means I’m working hard, but it’s also a giant banner displaying the current state of my heart health to the whole gym. It’s humbling.
But you know what? I do not go there to impress anyone. I go there because I want to grow. I want to get better. And there is a part of me that would like to see what level of greatness I might achieve when it comes to my physical health.
Growth toward greatness doesn’t feel impressive, especially at first. The everyday work that leads to greatness feels mediocre and lame.
That leads me to my second point.
Greatness requires us to put in the reps.
We typically go through the valley of suffering to become stronger, wiser, and better. And to choose suffering, we must have a vision for greatness.
When my vision is impressiveness, I get easily discouraged and disappointed. I can start to determine who I am based on the disappointment that no one is noticing me, no one is praising me, and no one is telling me they see greatness in me.
But the fact that no one is impressed by me doesn’t actually determine anything about who I am or who I will be unless I let it.
A vision for greatness helps me lean into the reps. I can have a settled peace about who I am today (not the healthiest person in the gym) while leaning into who I am becoming.
The people around me don’t care all that much whether or not I put in the reps. If anything, people tend to be skeptical of visions of the future, so there is also no use trying to get others to find your vision impressive.
The problem is that vision is lonely. Most people don’t see or get what you’re building, creating, cultivating, forming, and growing. And greatness typically takes a long time. To be great, we need to pursue our vision when no one is applauding. We may even need to be willing and able to bear some scoffing and laughing from those who can’t understand or believe in the vision driving us forward.
Vision is something you must have to get up each day and put in the reps that greatness requires. A desire to be impressive is cloudy, vague, and doesn’t contain substance enough to fuel the hard work of greatness.
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I’ve framed these thoughts in gym language, but I hope it’s not too far of a leap to see these principles apply to our creative work.
As creatives, we get easily sidelined by the desire to impress others. We want people to notice us. We want someone to speak who we are into being. We want someone to see something special in us. We want someone to validate the pursuit of our creative endeavors.
But this desire to be impressive is a hindrance to greatness. Even if someone is impressed by you, it won’t last long.
To put your best creative work out into the world, do your best to push aside the desire to be impressive and substitute it with a vision for greatness. A vision for greatness will help you do each day’s work with joy and a sense of purpose.
