Why You Can’t Turn Your Creativity Into ANYTHING
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- čas přidán 21. 03. 2022
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▼ Timestamps ▼
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00:35 - Reddit post
03:47 - How to bloom creatively
09:30 - Gratifying impulses
14:36 - Train your impulsivity
22:30 - Questions
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Today Dr.K talks about how to stay creative, how to always be creative, how to act on your ideas, how to turn ideas into reality, how to be creative, how to create something, how to follow through, and more. HealthyGamer also discusses what to do when unmotivated, how to fix motivation, how to build a habit, habit building creativity, creative habits, and more.
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I find when I start a new craft I feel like my efforts are childlike in nature. Lately I keep trying to remind myself that the reason it looks childlike is that I'm a beginner and generally children are also beginners. It's made a big difference in the amount of patience I have with a task.
children are beautiful beings :)
@@peaksofblue uuuuuuuuhhhhh
@@peaksofblue uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Retaining that nature is also ideal too imo, your inner 'artist' is pretty much synonymous with your inner child from my experience and nurturing both will help you become more creative and balanced. The word 'pure' might be an apt way to describe the persisting childlike aspect present during free-flowing creative moments.
@@peaksofblue Sundowner, is that you?
Setting a time limit is SO important. When you tell yourself, "I am going to spend the whole day being creative!" you either burn out or do nothing.
Me
Not only that, but you really want to stop well before you get burnt out, while your energy level is still somewhat high and you still feel motivated to go on. You'll be ending your creative session on a high note and with a little bit of "hunger", which will make it easier for you to engage with your craft your next scheduled session.
Maybe. I never vdo that. I just start doing something and I often go on for weeks in a row without much break at all. It's works for me. But I have Asperger so I guess my brain wroks a little bit different. We often have a lot of energy don't get tired easily. I do recognize when I'm starting to get burned out though.
So this is not a problem for me. I have several other problems though. like taking other people's criticism the wrong way, finding the right contacts, finding balance between doing something new and working on old projects etc.
@FlyingMonkies325
Yeah - That sounds familiar. 🙂
For me?
The fear of losing my motivation before the project gets done.
So then, I try to "sprint" as fast as I can in order to get to project completion, before motivation runs out.
But typically, the "fuel" of feeling inspired still runs out too quick anyway.
It might not sound like it yet,
but I think the approach proposed by this video
is addressing part of your concern,
just not in a way we would have thought of on our own.
Me on photoshop all day
30:04 "the reason why you think creativity only flows at random times is because the way you allowed it to flow is only at random times"
Man you just speak liquid gold
I used to think i wasn't creative after playing piano, violin and guitar for two years each. I didn't love them but I also wasn't patient. You don't need to be in the arts to be creative - you can be creative as a teacher, manager, and in many other professions. Hobbies as well
Very important message! The most thrilling creativity I’ve seen in my scientific background have been beautifully executed experiments and insightful data presentations. Creativity isn’t just for the arts. Everything can be improved with honing your creative senses and habits.
"Those that can't do, teach, and those that can't teach, teach gym" - Jack Black from School of Rock
Two years each seems patient..
But there’s a difference between a field where you create your own works vs occupations with a more practical goal, as well as things like creating things in Minecraft, vs *Creating * Minecraft
I don't play Dungeons and Dragons, but I know very creative people who are paid *GOOD* money to host campaigns.
6:20 'just practice'
5:50 answer 1? develop discipline
7:50 brain is efficient, dislikes adversity
can train
neurons fire, repeat: habits formed
dont need to restrict/control impulse
gratify
10:15 impulse is (+) energy, but then u get frustrated, then stop
11:28 looking for formula, how to sustain 'impulse'
❌ [explosion of creativity] + discipline = success
13:10 relying on firecracker over candle
train your impulsivity
14:35 ! train your impulsivity
starting on impulse, cant sustain
15:20 meditating: recognise the reason/focus, lvling up impulsivity
15:40 train attention on 1 thing, mind wanders, but try to focus on candle
15:55 wait for the wandering mind,
watch the smoke, mind wanders, bring it back (mind pushup, return)
17:05 slow down your start:
feel like doing it for 1000h/day?
❌
recognise u have a limited amount of fuel,
set aside a specific time each day,
! space out creative energy to last, into habit formation
19:20 u need to have that creative energy LAST til u can recruit other parts of ur brain: building a schedule, habit formation
20:20 decouple actions from reward,
so actions are not reward/impulse based
- 3 checkboxes: " I did what I was supposed to do today, good job!"
25:30 mindset shift. diagnosing the problem: giving into impatient/creative impulses make u stuck
+
+
Thank you! Much better than getting into the thick of it with 30+ minutes of audio
Funny how you do this when he literally said that "basically understanding it" is not what's going to help, but rather understanding the *_why_* is what will help.
I never would have had the patience or idea to type all that out just for some strangers, but you did. So thank you.
I think the thing that helped me the most when being creative is breaking things down into bite sized chunks. I used to have so many ideas floating around in my head an no skills to do it, and no idea where to start. But if you break everything down into tiny, tiny chunks, you have a clear path to follow. I break everything out into 30 minute chunks. If I don't think I can complete the chunk within a 30 minute session, then it means it's still too big. Then I break it down even smaller so it does fit in a 30 minute session. (In fact, when I first started this, and I wasn't used to working for even 30 minutes at a time, so I would break things down so far that I could literally fit it in 10 minute sessions. But now I have enough attention span to work for 30 minutes.) I put all of this into a To Do list and just grind away at it. Sometimes I'll get bored, and I take Dr K's advice from a previous video about being a Wind type person: It's okay! Just do something else (creative! not games) and come back later. And over the past year, I've felt like I've been the most productive I have ever been. And the thing that gives me motivation is looking back at my checklist and seeing each step I completed checked off, and getting the satisfaction that even if my project is still way too early to show anyone, I can feel the progress being made and I know where my trajectory is going. And I know that one day, I'm going to finish it and it's going to be amazing. (The Checklist is the secret sauce + in between 30 minute session I meditate for 5 minutes to relax, refresh, and prepare for the next 30 minute session) .
And if I don't have the skill to do something, I'll just do what I can as a placeholder and come back later to fix it up better when I've picked up more skills. The important thing imo is to not get stuck in a learning loop, which is what used to happen to me. I'd learn and learn and learn and never create anything. So now I just acknowledge I don't have certain skills and just try to work around it temporarily. So I balance my day with a little bit of learning, but try to mostly focus on creating.
Also another important part is giving yourself enough time to play + plan time for family time. So really on weekdays, I only get in about 1.5 to 2 hours of quality work. Because the rest is family time or video game time. I think it's important not to lie to yourself and think that you can work without play forever and ever. After all, you have to enjoy life. But 2 hours a day will make surprising amounts of progress over time!
And if I'm still feeling burnt out, I will reduce my work time down to just 1 or less hours a day until I feel motivated again. But I try to at least maintain 30 minutes a day just to stay in the zone if that makes sense. I've noticed that if I go a few days without quality work sessions, my attention span deteriorates very quickly and it can be weeks before I pickup motivation again. So I try not to let any days slip without quality work.
The popular pomodoro time management technique breaks tasks into 20-25-minute chunks, followed by 5-minute breaks, and every 4 pomodoros you take one bigger break (15-20 minutes).
YES. A million times YES. Making things in chunks is the way to go to get better at anything. Little improvements, little practices, little creations, little by little each day, it takes a thousand littles to add up to one big. Chunks are definitely OP for grinding EXP on any skill, the way I do it with most things is like 2-3 hour chunks, cause the way my brain works it's very hard to stop or take a break until I've finished something, so I can't stop until I've finished that song or finished that art or fixed that coding bug. Making a short piece of music only takes a little while, and I can use those tiny 2 hour creations as practice and it compounds over time. I've made like 30 something tiny little songs that I use to practice different musical techniques and structure. Then I can apply all that compounded knowledge and experience into bigger things. It really works, and trying to do super huge big things to start always ends in failure, I know that from experience, so many times I've tried to start these huge projects when I don't have the skill for it yet, and they've all come crashing down after under a month of starting them, you gotta start small.
What kind of Meditation do you do inbetween your 30 Minute Session? Just generell Mindfulness or anything specific?
Kinda sound like gamedev XD
Can you describe some examples of "chunks"?
i needed this video more than i ever, EVER thought. i genuinely thought this wasnt something people talked about and had no idea why i was feeling that way.
same
same
same
same, had been this way my entire life but thought it was just me
Same
I'm an artist with ADHD, so naturally my interests are driven by impulse. I definitely wax and wane when it comes to completing work and posting to my socials, this has been really helpful to understand the core roots of this poster's issue and make everything click. What I found helps to curb the impulsive creative ideas is to keep an idea book, write down the thought, and then continue on with discipline.
How has it been working so far?? Any extra tips?
Make your schedule visible (not on a digital device). Celebrate 🎉 3 steps along the way -> first your idea -> result after hard work -> show and get response from people (last past is something I struggle with). About the schedule: make a route with 3 dots (for example) so you prevent yourself from skipping when something is hard. Better to start with 2. Try to find more balance in thinking and doing.
OP, I love this
Do a keto diet to deal with your ADHD
@@iche9373keto is a diet designed to put your body into a starvation mode. Any benefits you get from ketosis are probably your brain being undernourished. Your brain only runs on glucose. There are definitely more well tested diet options like a healthy diet low in saturated fat sodium and sugar limiting processed foods as much as possible and trying to stick to whole foods. This actually has science behind it for overall wellbeing. This is my general speculation but if you have mechanistic data there may be a way to implement those same benefits but keto diets typically inherently exclude the chips and soda that people should stay away from anyway.
Something to keep in mind is that there is no golden formula for creative habits. If you look at successful authors and their habits you'll find that they all have radically different schedules. So seek to find a habit that fits you, and don't assume there are specific correct habits - what matters is simply that the habit lends itself to your individual needs and productivity.
But the authors I’ve learned about do have schedules, even if wildly different, and they maintain them consistently.
I can relate way too much. My issue hasn't always been impatience at every turn. More so my perfectionistic nature commbined with no fast way to accumilate information needed in order to get past the obstacle I'm facing. Spending hours just trying to find a video that can tell me how to get something working just kills the mood. I'm also extremely bad at following the red thread in information. It becomes the mmindset "i need to learn everything to be able to do anything".
So you just described my brain.
Could you please get out now? Thx. 😅
@@ninadiamant8937 No, ur brain had a very nice couch.... I live here now! XD
@@FlashySenap
Can we at least share that damn couch?
@@ninadiamant8937 You can have one spot but the blankets are mine!
@@FlashySenap ok ok. I'm bringing the duvet. 😅
"You only have a right to the action itself and never to the fruits of that action. Do not make the rewards your motive and do not develop any attachment for avoiding action." Your comment at the end there reminded me of this verse.
Thanks for the great content man. It's helping me understand my brain a bit and feel validated and hopeful.
I've been so bummed that I couldn't make a manga in my 20s that I've wanted to create since I was a teenager (I'm 36 now) I have more time for it now being childless and having all my friends turn into parents/moving away. I need this creative consistency to help my loneliness out so tysm Dr. K for this lecture! The 2 hour a day window is totally doable and easy to manage :)
Hope you make it. Id be keen to check out on what u make!
Same! Be sure to share what you create!
Why not pay someone to do it for you. ?
@@handsanitizer2457 dear SandHanitizer, the whole point is doing it by themself !
All power to you! Im 21 right now and also trying to work on my manga
"The brain is kind of like an animal, and it does what it's trained to do." That's really well put.
I don't agree.
this video is a good example of the importance of "how/why it works" as opposed to just "what works"
Ive just realise that "burst of creative energy" is what people usually call an "inspiration". Im amazed how well Dr K navigates people emotions
In regards to his last statement I think it’s also recognizable when someone is truly putting creative effort into a project. Too often I’ve seen people criticize a game, show, event,etc. because it feels like a corporate mandate. People can often feel when someone has put consideration and effort into a passion.
It’s one of those feelings you can’t quite name but you just know it when you see it, it’s kinda weird in that way.
I love when something is so scuffed that you can see a story being told in the making!
heavily agree.
@@peaksofblue dwarf fortress
As a career creative, I highly recommend looking into the podcasts and books by Todd Henry. Accidental Creative is a great book by him, especially if you're starting out. Good luck out there.
Going to tack on Seth Godin here, check out any of his talks or interviews. It's presented as marketing but it's entirely about the purity of the creative process. Have heard Dr. K mention some things I've only heard Godin talk about so I wouldn't be surprised if he has read some of his books. Viewers of this channel will definitely appreciate Seth.
Today I had a kinda sad day creatively and emotionally, I study marketing and am working as freelance, so thanks for the recomendation
You gotta focus on the process not the results. As soon as I focus on whatever the results are I hate everything I do. That’s when impatients sets in.
Enjoying what you do even when you feel miserable doing it. You might not like that moment but there’s gratitude just in the fact that you’re doing it.
The other big thing is write things down! If you have an idea when you are working on a different project don’t pursue it. Put it somewhere for safe keeping and then when you have some free time you can play with the idea a little bit. But that’s not what you’re committed too right now. Saving it for later doesn’t mean you have to throw away the joy it gives you it means it’s not a priority. So giving constraints and giving your mind a chance to slow down so even if you chose to follow what started as an impulse it is now an intentional choice. That’s helped me reach my goals.
Basically this is THE video for artists and creatives with ADHD lmao.
this is so true!!
Well Elizabeth Filips talks about the way she learns exactly against this principle and apparently the idea of doing things a little at a time is "impossible" for her (I'm saying cuz a lot of people with ADHD relate to that and feel like they're unable to sustain habits and they absolutely have to catch a wave and use it up).
Personally I do neither 🤣 I don't have fire for a whole month of creative work, wow. Maybe a day. 🙂
But acting on "positive" impulse and quickly burning out is familiar to me.
Doctor K is really out here helping people to achieve their full potential, I impulsively love this guy.
I've also struggled with this vicious cycle many many times, through dozens of hobbies and activities.
Other factors that may exarcebate this problematic pattern are a perfectionist's mentality and an anxiety/fear of failure.
A helpful mnemonic I've found is setting bite-sized, S.M.A.R.T. tasks/goals:
Specific - the task must be specific.
Measurable - the task needs to either be quantifiable or at least have an indicator of progress.
Achievable - the task must be realistically achievable.
Relevant - the task should contribute towards an overall progress.
Time-limited - the task should be bound by time constraints, either a time schedule or deadline.
Guess my pe teacher was right about SMART goals
Same man, I always do this too
:D Michelangelo working on the Sistine Chapel was an interesting example to choose. He really, really didn't want to do it - wanted to focus on his sculptures instead - but the Pope wanted it so he had to get painting. Apparently there's a poem out there that he wrote about how much he hated the work!
Lmao he was really doing it for the money xD
I had the same thought and it also reminded me of what I consider a problem with art nowadays and how it is perceived - no wonder we all struggle with the concept of scheduling art when all we are told is that “art is supposed to come to you, listen to your muses, if it’s thought through it’s not art but design”. Same professors who said this stuff to us are those glorifying, indeed, a dude who did it for the money 😂
@@Trinity_505 yes and no, creative ideas come and go so you have to have a paper, sheet, canvas, musical instrument around always to write down the frame of it, so later with your scheduled habbit can build on.
This guy... always posting videos on subjects the exact moment I need them most. Thanks Dr. K!
It has now been about 3 months since I've implemented this guidance in this stream and my creative productivity has completely flipped from brief spikes with long down time to a flat line of consistent creative productivity. Maintaining good consistent working habits and forcing myself to stop before hitting burnout keeps me going and happier doing the creative work when doing it. Thank you as always for your guidance!
The one thing that seems to be overlooked is chronic depression; which is a serious issue in our society, especially since Covid. I've known for a long time that the key is discipline, but pushing yourself to do something that, deep down, you don't want to do, is near impossible. Especially in the case of people with mental disorders which include impulse control as a symptom (such as autism).
I always thought to myself that you have to push yourself to the limit everytime so that you can get better at it but the more you push yourself the more faster it is to actually burn you out I've been doing it wrong since the beginning I'll start over again with this in mind
Edit: I was drawing but I gave up on it for a month because of how hard it was I'll start over again this time with a schedule and implementing everything dr.k say's
hope it goes well c:
Yeah, I thought that too for a while, but then I realized that if you do something in small chunks over the course of a few months, and you don't put it down for more than like 2 weeks, eventually you will get good at it, it takes time, and practice, but not all at once, or else you'll be too tired and not wanna continue doing it. I actually saw this sort of thing being talked about on a video about how to grow a CZcams channel once. They said something like, "Making 5 videos a month for 6 months is better than making 30 videos in 1 month and then disappearing for 5." Large bursts of creativity are like explosions, loud, bright, impactful, but vanish within a few seconds. What you really want is a consistent moderate grind that you can keep up throughout the entire week, not a huge grind 1 day and then nothing for the rest of the week.
Yep, I also noticed the harder I push myself, the faster my new habits fizzle out.
I end up burned out when I tried to go for commissions on Instagram, I got so paranoid and robotic about drawing and since I didn't see progress especially in terms of at least 1 commission I got terrified that I will loose the ability to be creative and it kind of happened now idk what to do
I'm not being hyperbolic...this video is life-changing! This not only helped me understand that my impulsiveness was actually preventing me from practicing which prevented me from improving in my artwork...the theory applies to soo many other aspects in my life--life changing! Thank you for this video!
Doc, I literally just started out writing a month ago and had this problem for a week now. This video couldn't have had a better timing.
Well continue!
#2 on his list is what most writers do: force themselves to write every day, even if they have nothing to say, and even if it's total shit. Some days, I'll write down something like "Finish this paragraph. Why does Joe feel this way? Figure out the next scene." And I'll seriously consider that my writing for the day. And after doing that for a few days, you begin to have ideas come back to you. Are you familiar with Nanowrimo?? Camp Nano is coming up soon. It's just a goal you set with yourself for something you want to work on, it doesn't have to be a novel. Could help you with whatever you're struggling with, if you are goal-driven, and would strive just to "win" Nano to get the finisher badge. Just an idea. :) Good luck! (The forums on the site may also help, if you feed off the ideas and creativity of others. There are also Discord servers for writers...)
@@wqweqwet1804 On the go!
ive been writing (as a hobby) for over ten years at this point and ive always had the same problems that OP described. i think that i'm decent (by now) and i dont hate my own writing, but still, i've never managed to finish anything. i could never commit to any story for long enough to see it through.
recently ive made a few changes to my life and my writing habit has improved so much through this. i knew that if i ever wanted to finish anything as big as a book id have to build a strong writing habit. but that wasnt even what i started with. at the beginning of the year i started meditating, i started journaling, then later on i implemented some excercise into these daily habits, and once i was sure i was gonna keep going with all that, thats when i trusted myself enough to attempt to implement writing into that daily habit. at first only half an hour a day, no wort count goal. and thats been going great! now i trust myself even more and i recently started setting a word count goal of 1000 words. well, today was the first day and its super fucking hard ngl but i at least trust myself that i wont give up, even if i dont hit the goal every day which feels really good! :)
I feel like each and every one of Dr. K's videos are targetted directly at me. I'm not even joking. It's eerie.
I feel this so hard. I'm an artist who is currently in a state of burnout after drawing consistently for a few years. I really want to get back into drawing my comic again, but at the same time I am very tired. There are still so many questions I need to answer about what I want to do with it and my relationship with art as a whole. I have to be really careful on how I go forwards and slowly ignite the fire again
Lol I get the same thing. It's always right as I'm about to start drawing i start feeling tired some reason. Like as if moving my arm it unbearable lol.
honestly a big issue, especially in our age of social media 24/7 (no it's not one of these rants), is that we compare to others way too much. to be blunt, no shit you lose motivation to do let's say drawing when you see someone better than you. but the unfortunate truth is that we'll suck forever. there will always be someone better than us. once we reach the peak of the first mountain, we'll see an even bigger one. save your work and look at it months later and you will see improvement. no you likely won't be the next michelangelo or Da Vinci and that is just fact. let's not beat around the bush with it. but you can be a better version of you from a few months ago. I've had so many moments of thinking to quit over the last 6 years of music, but whenever I look back I see that there was improvement. the improvement isn't a straight line, it's a curve. you learn a LOT early on, but as you know more, the visible and immediate improvement will dissapear but that is just what happens. keep a diary from stuff you've made whether it's music, drawing, scientific papers, engineering samples, whatever you do, and you will notice improvement
Very true. A good thing to remember also is that (most) people will only show their best work on social media to shine. You won't see the 1000 failed attempts they made to practice. It creates a false impression of "Everybody makes the perfect craft every time and I can't do shit". This video was very helpful, once again, thank you Dr K.
This my god, the endless mountains of quality art on artstation and other such sites makes my little pencil sketches and mini-stories feel like trash.
I think this is a topic that is not really explored often. The internet has changed comparisons from local communities to the entire world, and I believe it greatly changes your perspective and motivational feedback loops. It's very hard to create organic growth when you are constantly compared to giants without having gone through the same journey.
@@RialuCaos I've felt this so many times. Our biology is still sooo far from decently adapted to the technology we have to our present day. Love how you pointed out that we used to compare ourselves to local communities and now it's the entire world.
The only cure I've found to this is to focus on the moment and on your art. Get into a feeling state instead of a thinking state. Thank god even tho I play very basic chord progressions (piano), it feels amazing if I put in some emotion into it and get entranced in the rythm of a youtube drummer playing alongside me. Sure there are people like jacob collier or a hundred thousand others that can play much more amazing stuff and my peers will probably get used to that quality and not think much of my stuff... BUT. As long as I don't linger thinking about it, I'm feeling good and, funnily enough, making technical progress.
We're clearly pioneers of a both wonderful and brutal era that's 100% sure.
Dammit. I've been dealing with this for a long time and i didn't expect thid vid will answer all my questions about why. This channel always comes in clutch. I'm ready for all the scientific explanation and stufies
Creativity is awesome, but it needs solid skills to bring it to fruition. Many people like their creativity, but not the work and patience it requires to make it a reality.
This talk has hit for me in a way that similar suggestions in the past haven't. I think the bit about "creative explosion = the good part" and trying to attach discipline to it instead of viewing both the creativity and the discipline as sides of the same problem was brilliantly put. Cheers for sharing these clips, they are literally lifechanging.
great to hear. There is a reason that when we light a fire for warmth as we sleep, we want a "slow burn" not a bonfire
Exact same problem I've been having for years. I've always had these big ideas for writing, game development, but always lose direction and start putting off goals until I forget about them entirely. Definitely going to take on your advice and work toward getting a system in place to maintain my creativity.
Basically if you have no time to watch the entire video, here's a quick summary.
The main problem of this creativity problem is lack of consistent practise. This is due to burning out, if you want consistency you have lower the amount of energy you spend in order to do the thing. This can be achieved by enjoying what you do or don't over work yourself.
Thank you for this summary.
god bless you my child
thank for the good 👍
The second half of the video explains the "wait for it to rain" mindset vs the "build a well" mindset, and how you can't fake it and expect to build up a habit. Watering with a gallon for a few weeks is just as much the problem as leaving the plants to wither after losing motivation. Showing restraint when we start is how we build up real momentum and give ourselves the best shot at doing whatever needs to be done when things get tough.
@@peaksofblue preach
Thank you bro
I once went through a period where I did the opposite of what my impulse was in any given situation. It was strangely helpful.
I speak from experience here: The remedy for this is acceptance of where you are at (you'll get better whether your thoughts beat you up about it or not), and playfulness. Enjoy what you're doing, have fun! It isn't that serious. Do the art for the joy of art and not for impressing others, and soon enough you will be impressive! But it isn't the point anyway, and the joy of creation and expression themselves are amazing rewards alone.
I struggled with hating my current level in things for years, and I sometimes still do. But lately, things HAVE been clicking because I just accept where I'm at, and because of this I've been able to draw more often, I've been playing piano daily for over 7 months now, since early August and I can improvise a song, on the fly, in any key, and I can change keys fairly smoothly now, and I'm finally back in the habit of writing two pages a day. It's still art though and I know I have a lot to learn, but that's what keeps me coming back now!!!! I'm excited to see where I'll be in a month, a year, and more! And I can prove my piano-ness if you'd like, I'm not exaggerating. The book has been a four year project though so don't expect that anytime soon.
The point is, accept your current state, and in order to enjoy yourself, stress about it as little as possible. Just let it be what it is, and YES absolutely experiment, take risks, be okay with sounding like shit. Everyone does. Even Yusuke Murata still constantly erases and that man is one of the greatest illustrators of all time.
As someone who’s trying to get back into music after a long hiatus this video was super relevant. All you can do is be consistent, try to set yourself up to be in the best position possible and let the chips fall.
"Slowing it down at the start" has been a life changing perspective shift on when I start anything new. And the best part is you can start as slow as you need to, to keep the habit going.
I am a freelance artist and this hits really close to home for me. I chose a creative career, but am struggling so much to actually "Bloom". Every single one of your videos is so helpful and i'm grateful for that
I think that I finally created a habit of reading books and I've done that by only reading 10 pages each day. The point is, there is NO excuse not to. I can find plenty of excuses not to read 50, or a 100 pages, but 10 is something I can usually do in 15 minutes, sometimes up to an hour (depending on the content and whether I write notes).
It isn't extremely difficult to create habits, but one thing that Dr. K said absolutely stands true. Waking up one day and saying FROM THIS DAY ON, I'M READING BOOKS and catching a tailwind and reading 150 pages in a day just does not translate into a habit. So decompose the tasks, do small bits of work every day instead of large chunks in periods of motivation.
A youtuber I follow who does a lot of deep reading of heavy, dense classics puts his target at one page for the same reason. One page is nothing, and everything over one page is a bonus and our brain likes those kinds of rewards. "Yay I did even better than expected" kind of thing.
@@nicoler5713 You are absolutely correct. That's exactly how I feel.
I don't have the discipline for a tight schedule yet, but I do have a weekly quota to work on my projects, and that is helping immensely. 99% of the plot holes I had in a story, that had been making me procrastinate for the past years, got solved in 1 month by just sitting down and dedicating my energy into ironing them out, whereas before that I could just stop thinking about it and do something else, waiting for divine inspiration to come and solve my problems (which happened sometimes but it takes MONTHS of ruminating the idea).
I'm still acting on impulse, but my impulse is modest, "I gotta get something off my weekly checklist".
Yesterday I betrayed myself and stayed up late to play a game and got rewarded by it (cleared the missing goals in it), but at the very least I couple each goal I accomplish in a game with a short spurt of study from my textbook. My sleep schedule is skewed, but I learned something!
Hopefully these obligatory pauses to study are also helping to train my brain not to be 100% slave to rewards.
This has been profoundly mind shifting. A heartfelt thank-you to all those who asked the questions that made this video what it was. Of course, thank-you too Dr. K
Now this is something I can really get behind, Dr. K!
This is truly germane to my entire life. Nothing but ideas and no drive to finish them.
A thing that immensely helped me is always observe your own pattern with things and be self aware, especially with your energy levels to avoid burnout and be somehow consistent with your schedule.
Also, this is specific for artists but it might help others as well, if you have perfectionist tendencies and you see your work as average or not good enough, this will instantly put you in the "my work is not perfect so why show it to others, why post this to social media" mindset and that will make you not work on your passions anymore.
I went to an art school and had really shitty teachers that kind of put me in this mindset, constantly criticizing, "no one will hire you if you don't do x, y, z", "your art has so many mistakes", "this makes me cringe" etc. and it really made me hate my own passions and not draw anymore cause I was constantly met with negativity.
Luckily in the last couple of years I try to separate myself from that time and slowly get back to my roots, like why I even pursued art in the first place and found out that pacing myself really helps and not think that it's the end of the world if I made a tiny mistake. The great Bob Ross said once "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents."
It's a shame when stupid bitter teachers risk destroying beautiful carreers.
@@Narusasu98 Absolutely. I do wish schools and universities would pay attention to people they're hiring and not let their classes become extremely toxic. Then they wonder why they don't get employment rates in the industry after graduation.
So, I am a former horse trainer (dressage, low level jumping, mostly training colts and "dangerous" horses that others had abandoned). All my training life I trained horses by "magic" -- I chose high strung, very intelligent horses (some with a strong sense of self and willingness to fight) and we seemed to have a "connection" sufficient that my horses quickly learned to move off of very slight cues and body movements - such as going where I looked (obviously, you are making very slight changes in your body when you do this, but do not really notice -- the horse does). Because I loved training horses I was very persistent - so there was drudgery of repetition, repetition, repetition. But I loved horses and training and I could do it. I have thought of my mind in the same terms: "This is the horse I was given to ride and I'm not going to get another, so I better learn how to ride it." So, I've been working all my life to learn to ride this beast. I'm 68 now. Just got diagnosed with ADHD (co-morbidities are anxiety, depression, CPTSD and PTSD along with a personality type that seems to be rare). I had a professional life where I earned many awards. I have always had excellent friends (some, equally ADHD and successful). I am now trying a new approach to riding this beast -- finding the emotion I have learned to bury all my life, letting it pool out in private and then "riding" that emotion in action. Using the source of excitement and staying atop it. We'll see how it goes.
Thank you for sharing! c:
Oh my god Dr.K thank you so much. This is something that I’ve dealt with for years. I juggle multiple hobbies such as music, photography and art and I always get these burst of energy for one or the other and then it doesn’t go anywhere tangible and burns out. Then I feel bad because I have confidence in my abilities and when it doesn’t go anywhere I feel bad because it feels like wasted potential.
This video gives me one of those rare moments when you learn that something you thought was only you, actually happens to other people too.
I'm an artist and i got sooo stuck multiple times precisely cause of thinking it's only gonna be good if i react on the creative impulses. As if having a schedule or doing art when i didnt "feel like it" would taint the artwork making it less authentic/powerful, and me drawing when i didn't want to would be "bad" both for me and the art, but now i realize how that line of thinking just fucked me over time and time again and hindered a lot of absolutely worthwhile creative pieces from being created, and also a lot that may not have been as great, but man it'd at least have been -something-.
When you started explaining, i remembered an experience i had long ago which hit me so hard because it illustrated exactly what you explained, and up until this video i didn't give any thought; it was when i was small, i was consistently drawing for years, everyday, and in the ocean of drawings were multiple that stood out, which may have never done so if i wasn't as focused back then, not relying on my impulse, but just on plain habit and trained muscle memory.
There was a time where all i wanted was to be able to draw a fookin horse like a god, in armor, plain, any horse race, because it felt like i'd unlock the power of the universe itself if i could do it well (i really loved horses ok). I had a lazer determination to make it happen, because i just adored horses so much. I bought books on animal anatomy, redrew other artists in my eyes flawless horses, and went to a stable to study them in real life (and to pet and ride them). After tons of really bad drawings later, it became less bad, then good, and eventually i became a horse drawing god, no matter what angle it was from (and now i forgot most of how to do it RIP). I repeated the same with other animals, and later even humans - the improvement rate was rediculous, and some pieces i like up to this day still.
If I'd just relied on impulse and tried to randomly draw a horse every now and again with no structure at all, that'd never have been able to happen. But now, years after i somehow expected it to work just because i once had this long period of practice, so i got lazy in my approach thinking i can skip all the essential steps and mental training... and then i wondered why i failed so hard, for way too long. Oh brain why u do this
Thank you big time Dr K!
A lot of people believe this because they believe structure and discipline are like prisons for an artists creativity, when really those are the two things that will make you a better artist
i have been in constant therapy for over 3 years and this one video literally explained things to me that not only make sense but completely shine light on alot of the issues i have been working on. Therapists are people and they don't always know best, but fuck it, this guy does.
This is extremely insightful, I have constantly made the impulsive decision to start a project, go at it with full passion, and then after it gets hard, I impulsively give up. After so many times I had given up, I realized I wasn’t doing something right, and I may have subconsciously gotten better at it through a few surface level methods, but consciously understanding should be really helpful in the future
This might be the most helpful video that i`ve watched on this channel so far. Thank you soo much for that and please keep doing what you do. I really appreciate it
"If you want light throughout the night you don't want to light a firecracker" 13:34.
Absolute pure shining gold! 🤣🤣🤣
I really needed this one. I’ve been passionate about music for years, and I finally purchased a DAW license. Super pumped yet too nervous to touch it all month. I’m commonly described as a perfectionist, and I need to learn to be comfortable with making mistakes as I progress.
I believe in your creative endeavors, people. Don’t let others discourage you and keep that passion! Stay focused on your goal!
Man, I really needed this talk like 3 years ago. This is all totally true, and I learned a lot of this just over time after I got out of school. To add to this, start small and simple. Start with making something short that you can finish in a few days. You can’t really commit to a novel if you’ve never written a short story. Having finished something is a huge confidence boost, and will get you up the ladder for future projects
Earned a sub. This is legitimately the most valuable advice I've ever heard about creative productivity -- I appreciate the focus on correcting behavior internally instead of merely changing our outward habits without correcting our faulty behavior. So simple, should be obvious, but it hits hard when you hear it.
I just wanna say that I really appreciate you and your channel as well as the this community. It helps me a lot.
Absolutely loving the new background! Amazing content as always. One of the most important channels i've found this year, easy.
I can't say for sure yet as I'm just now trying to implement some of the techniques, but this video just helped me understand so much more that my impulses are so strong. I feel like I've just been poisoning my mind with media and content and training my impulses unintentionally to be lazy. To constantly go from one thing to the next. Thank you for this video sincerely from the bottom of my heart. It just puts a lot in perspective.
This man is a genius and always seems to be releasing videos that I need when I need them, it makes sense now and perfectly describes the issue I've had.....now to form these good habits! Thanks Dr K!
Thank you for the step by step detailed response! It is SO helpful for someone like me (ADHD) to be walked through the full process in detail. Saved me SOOO much time trying to white knuckle may way thru figuring it out on my own.
As you said, all the writing videos and even Sanderson's entire walkthru wasn't enough to make that connection.
I've watched this video dozens of times over the last 6 months and each time I watch it I come away with a greater understanding of the problem. I really appreciate it, it has helped me a lot! Thanks!
Dude this is so eye opening. I’ve struggled so hard to figure out why I often quit on things that I was initially hyped to pursue whether it comes to writing or making beats.
I thought I needed both discipline and that burst of creative energy but I was so wrong and now it makes sense why it was a wrong mindset to have.
This is something I really needed to hear! Can’t thank you enough Doc!
This video actually just got me so emotional holy cow. I actually just started tearing up and crying from all the realization and understanding that seeped in, and felt a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders.
I NEEDED THIS SO BAD!!!! YOURE THE BEST THANK YOU :’) this has held me back my whole life!!
I swear to God Dr k, these video titles are always calling me out lmao
One thing that goes with breaking things down that's helped me is always leaving something to look forward to for the next day. If you leave with a sense of "completeness" then why would you come back? I think part of why this person struggled to stick with things passed the practice phase is they stopped having goals or direction.
Answers like this are why I'm glad I stay subbed to your channel. I don't watch every day, but every so often, there's a great one like this.
this is the most helpful one of your videos i’ve seen so far and i’m very grateful it showed up. I don’t have a job and I seek (though am failing) to gain financial success through creative endeavors such as creating a successful game. But I don’t have the discipline right now because I never made this hobby a habit that I commit too like I did correctly with eating healthy and exercising. Thank you for this. I will slow it down.
I'm crying. Thank you. My entire life I've wondered why I'm this way.
I get that, I get like a tingle in my hands to do something whether its writing or drawing but once I get to pencil and paper I just cant set anything down.
This is the best CZcams video I’ve ever seen. Thank you for taking the time to go over this I found this video randomly but need it very much 😌
I was just about to write a post looking for some help. This video couldn't have come at a better time. Once again thank you Healthy Gamer and Dr. K
thanks for the relevant video, im always frustrated that i cant translate my ideas into something tangible. sucks that i want to be an artist too, i really need to put my own ideas out there someday
Okay, but how does one discipline to keep _up_ the discipline? I've tried to keep up habits _knowing_ it'll easier but it feels like it never does. All it takes is for me to miss a day or have a depressed day/week and, poof, the habit is gone and I no longer want to pick it back up (it seems like too much work). I guess that's my impulse speaking... Too bad meditation is itself something I need discipline for.
I wonder if I should just focus on getting the meditation down (at the expense of all the other stuff I want/need to do). Because it seems like every final answer ends up being meditation, lol.
THIS! This is my exact problem as well, and the more time passes, the more depressed and unwilling I am..
Exactly the same.
Watch youtube videos about what you are interested in when you dont have the energy to actually do it yourself. Put yourself wherever you do the work and just sit there and don't do anything so you are still making a habit of preparing yourself to do it. Get a mentor or someone who can hold you accountable or take a class you have to attend. Meet other people who are interested in the same stuff. Get another hobby like gardening that requires you to build a habit and participate in it every day so you build the grit to maintain any kind of habit. When you brush your teeth every day, make part of your routine afterwards to do the thing you want to do. Count down from 5 and when you get to 1, get up and go do the thing. Most importantly do the thing especially when you don't feel like doing the thing and do it however crappily you can and tell yourself you accomplished a goal and did a good job. Depressed times are hard, forgive yourself for giving up, talk to yourself like you would talk to a friend who wanted to give up on something where they had amazing potential. I think you can do it, i am not sure if any of this will help but a weird stranger believes in you.
I totally know where you're coming from, but I feel like I've turned a corner with it. Here are the thoughts/concepts that helped me the most:
1.) know your "why," and if you don't have a "why" or it's not compelling enough, you don't have to do it. I know it's cheesy, but I put notes in places where I'll see them when I'm working on my new habit, to help me remember WHY I'm working on developing or maintaining it. For example, instead of setting an alarm and labeling it "work," I'll label it with the financial goal I'm working toward, or the feeling I'm seeking by becoming more financially secure.
If you can't locate a compelling reason why you want to develop a certain habit, then it's time to do some introspection. Are you pursuing it because YOU want to, or because society has told you you should? If it's solely a society thing, you don't have to pursue it, AND you don't have to feel guilty about it.
2.) consistency = more often than not, NOT daily. Ive gotten caught in the trap of "well, I broke my streak, guess I have to wait until Monday/next month/Jan 1 to start again" many times. Redefining "consistent" to account for slip-ups has been insanely helpful for me, cuz ya know, life happens sometimes and you're gonna miss a day. The key is to not beat yourself up about it so you can get back on track tomorrow, without any drama. If you account for days off in your definition of "consistency" then there's nothing to beat yourself up about :)
3.) you HAVE to work on your identity while you're building new habits too. If you don't do this, you're doomed to fail. It feels really awkward at first, but for example if you're building a workout habit, it's going to be easier if you start thinking of yourself as someone who works out, or someone who's into fitness. What would a gym rat do? That's what you're gonna do, because you're a gym rat now. You don't have to go around telling people you're a gym rat, but play with the new identity in your head for the first little while until the habit "sticks".
4.) yes, the general wisdom for habit formation is to work on one at a time rather than making over your whole life at once. I would personally recommend doing meditation first, because as you mentioned - it'll make a lot of other things easier. But you can choose something else if you'd prefer. It doesn't actually matter that much - what matters more is not getting stuck worrying about choosing the "right" habit to start with 😉
5.) try giving yourself an "out." This is one that really works well for me. I'll tell myself "I'm gonna focus on doing this new habit for the next month. If, after this month, I don't like it or it's not working, I get to stop. But for this month, I have to really give it my best effort so I can properly see if it'll work for me long term." this permission to quit after a certain amount of time helps me feel less overwhelmed about the idea of having to do my new habit every day for the rest of my life. It isn't for the rest of my life - it's just for this month.
6.) finally, try to make your new activity enjoyable even if it isn't that fun. I've kept a consistent journaling habit for the past several years because I invest in really nice paper, fountain pens, and fun inks. The experience of writing is something I look forward to. Right now I'm working on building better work habits, so I've been working outside in my backyard because it lifts my mood, which makes it easier for me to focus. You'll be surprised at how much the little details like this make a HUGE difference.
Hopefully some of these ideas help. I know it can be really overwhelming though, so take what you like and leave the rest 💗
@@leotardbanshee Aw, thank you! I like the idea of watching videos of someone doing the work. I've noticed that helps me get motivated with organization so maybe if I schedule it right, I could build a habit that way? Worth a try.
I’ve listened to a lot of advice over the years regarding this kind of stuff, and this takes the cake when it comes to clarity of concept. I feel like the advice is often to just “be more disciplined” and there is rarely too much elaboration beyond that. But you do a great job of explaining the methodology behind how that is done. So thank you for this!
I've been on a self-improvement train for a few years now, and this video just shined the light on a subject I've been struggling to quantify for a year. Thank you for helping everyone level up!
Right on the money with this one.
I think another really important aspect to this is to think about WHY you’re creating and making art. If you’re doing it for fame or to make money etc. you’ve already failed. You have to absolutely LOVE what you do and do it purely for the passion.
Great point, look up the "Power of Intention" by Wayne Dyer to dive deeper here.
I agree but, what about someone who isn't motivated by anything? I only get motivated by impulse, like this video shows. How do I know what my passion is if what motivates me are my random impulses, not actual motivations?
How do we learn what our passion truly is?
@@capuchinosofia4771 In my case, I have so many things competing for my attention, that its easy for impulses to win. I think the more we simplify our lives and make it easy for us to hold space without "needing" to do anything (mindfulness meditation), the more space we allow for true motivation to grow. Impulse is like a weed that kills motivation.
There's a beast inside you that feeds off of pen and ink/paint/film/melodies/actions, and if you don't give it what it wants, it consumes you instead
I'm so glad these videos are free accessible to the wider community, I'm learning so much about myself.
I think ever since I got my first smartphone in about 2015 my habit of drawing has really gone out the window in favor of the instant gratification of social media. The last few months I've been desperately trying to ween myself off it. When I was young I created for the pleasure of creating, without any expectation of sharing it, and I was at my most productive and creative. Now every time I create, my mind wanders to that expectation of sharing it and getting rewarded with attention, and it becomes difficult to stay focused on my task. I just want to post it and get feedback as quickly as possible. The quality and quantity of my work has really waned, because I'm constantly interrupting myself to check socials. I guess the solution is to learn to stop giving into that impulse to check socials for feedback, and to get back into the habit of creating and staying focused. Actions decoupled from reward, as you said. It's so hard though.
would really love to hear about the "wind type" mind (was it called "vata"?) here and how it differs because i really think it was productive for me to use "bursts of creativity/motivation" to work in said creative form but by switching/rotating the projects i have in this particular form.
im confused with the following too :( does anyone mind helping?
from the healthygamergg wiki: "When someone [vata] gets stuck, the most common advice given to them by people is to pick up one thing and just focus on that. That is very bad advice for a Vata" while on the pitta motivation type that wiki says "the brightest candle burns out the fastest" in connection to that type.
But how does this not contradict with your other video about motivation styles? You talked about being Wind, Fire, Earth types, but what you talk about here probably only works for Earth types who can handle the slow but sustainable progress, but what OP is describing sounds more like a wind/vata type to me?
I don't know maybe I misunderstood that video (or this one). Hope someone can clear this up for me.
Dude, I freakin love you. You're such a great speaker. ty for all of this info. It's really helped me since I found your channel.
This is by FAR! The best video I have EVER seen and helped me out with the current trajectory of my life…Thank you
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Well said sir.
im crying
Its art
Don't go in the comments searching for timestamps. Sit trough the whole video, practice patience and discipline.
its like this video came at the right time thank god. So relieving to see others going this struggle with creativity that i've personally had for most of my life. This is so helpful thanks
15:18 now this is an example of my impulsivity taking action, where now I’m writing this comment… but I understand how meditation helps.
You see, just a few nights ago I was put into Jail over some garbage that wasn’t even my fault, got out after two days but… I was under the impression I was going to get a Felony. A year in jail.
As someone with Autism, this idea shook me. I was sitting in a room with a desk, a metal toilet/sink combo thing, and a crappy bed.
They gave me two sheets, a blanket, a book to read, my paperwork and a few sheets of printer paper, 4 small pencils with no erasers, hygiene stuff, a towel, a rag, and the most interaction I’d get out of the day would be food coming in through a slot in the metal door.
And when I tell you that it was hell, that is a severe understatement. I went though perspectives that I haven’t seen since I was locked in a dark room as a child, the silence enveloped me and tore into me like wolves.
I had brief moments of realization on why I was thinking that way, which I understood perfectly… but because of that, my mind would wander into thinking about things I couldn’t control;
Never seeing my dad’s wonderful face or getting to say I love you before going to bed, never getting to enjoy the Sun or enjoy the little things I took for granted like CZcams and picking out foods I liked, missing out on holidays and celebrations, never getting to go to my cabin… and worst of all, I wasn’t even sentenced yet.
I couldn’t even attempt to rationalize with the fact of staying in jail for a year, because I wasn’t even sure of how long I’d be there for.
Look, I can say whatever I want about how I felt in there. Everyone who goes experiences it differently depending on the mentality they bring there… but the problem with me is, I was truly alone.
For the first time in YEARS, I was alone in my head. No games to mindlessly drive and fight into to subdue my pain, no videos to watch to absorb and ignore the rest of reality, and nobody to hear my voice. At least when I was alone in my room at home, if things started to get a bit too real for me in my head… I could escape.
But there….
…I was fucking stuck. Locked. Trapped. Gone.
And everything emptied around me, my head would spin into itself… and hell, I’ll admit, I could envision images and dreams more clear and concise than I could ever do before.. and I feel like it’s because of this exact thing. I was subconsciously performing meditation to try and stabilize myself and provide that gap that I felt was missing…
….I could truly hear the voices in my head come clear, I could see the images deep inside my mind that I wanted to see, and most importantly… I was synced with my own direction of the universe.
Of course, I was still living in mortal terror and existing in a perpetual nightmare… but the only real moments I felt I could barely tolerate the cell, were when I was either drawing(which I’ll add I actually improved with in there) or lying down attempting to sleep. Anything else simply brought me back to the thoughts of home and regret.
Look, if there’s anything I can recommend to you all, DO SOME FORM OF MEDITATION!! IT IS LITERALLY THE ONLY WAY MY PSYCHE COULD TOLERATE THAT HELL HOLE… IT IS FUCKING MISERABLE, AND DON’T YOU DARE THINK OTHERWISE.
**YOU LOSE EVERYTHING, AND EVERYONE.**
Don’t squander your gifts, embrace them. You won’t master it by today or tomorrow. Maybe not ever, but you need to have control to exist and thrive. Otherwise, you will NEVER leave the pit you dig yourself into.
the colors and pop ups are so distracting
yes same here
I’ve been struggling in a similar way but I haven’t been able to identify or put it into words, the first 6 months was so fun but now I feel like I’ve learnt everything and just need to keep practising. This video means a lot to me, thank you
That was freaking awesome man thanks for that video and your vibes!
This was one of the most game changing videos i've ever seen. Thanks for your incredible work Dr.K!
Wow thank you truely Dr K, I've been stuck creatively for the past 3 months, and this video helped me understand my mind much more, and why it was behaving and thinking like it did. Thank you!
this arrived at the right time. I entered the practice phase and the reward and the impulsive creativity are drying but I don't want to stop. I got a candle and writing a simple weekly plan. and I love the idea to decouple the action of the reward and focus on the purity of the action this is what i needed to hear now. thanks a lot for the way you help me see things simpler. it helps me feel unstuck and understand things take time and the process doesn't always have to feel like something amazing.
Damn, I’ve semi-discovered this over the past two years when I decided to start making music, so it’s so cool to hear him talk about the exact things I thought.
Keep grinding guys, but give yourself some rest, you deserve it. Also this channel is the best CZcams channel I’ve found!
I think this needs to be readdressed over and over. This seems to be the biggest issues I see in myself and my friends. Easily the best breakdown of what seems to be an extremely common hang up. Thanks DrK!