From That Thing To My Thing

June 8th, 2010 | By Yesi

“The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.”  – Agnes De Mille.

So there’s that one thing that has always interested you.You might occasionally browse or inform yourself about it, or perhaps you avidly follow it. In fact, you might admire those who are currently doing that thing, but secretly feel you can do it better than them, if you applied yourself. You want to make it your thing. But It will require a commitment of time, effort and resources not to mention the million and one other “buts” that remind you how crazy of an idea this thing is.

Don’t over-think it, just do it.

Sure, there will be self-doubt and uncertainty. You will constantly be tortured by the imminent fear of failure and looking foolish after you put yourself out there. You might hit a couple I’m-way-over-my-head moments, and ever so often, the why-am-I-even-doing-this brick wall. But understand that the fear is expected because leaping-in is counter-intuitive to human nature. Since birth, we’ve internalized the prudence of caution and “looking before you leap.” Even the education system punishes mistakes and rewards precision.
I have found that there’s a certain emptiness when you live in the precision of your comfort zone. I think the real reason is because life is not an exact science, it is more like art… and art is the exact opposite of precision. The real reason to leap into the dark is because you cannot understand the meaning of light without experiencing darkness. You cannot gain anything if you risk nothing.
Of course, It is easier said that done. It takes guts and conviction. People will question your intentions. Obstacles will push you to the brink, and you will make mistakes. Ultimately, you have to embrace these tests because they reveal how bad you want that thing to become your thing.

-Yesi