Leaning into creative discomfort

If it feels uncomfortable, you're probably on the right path. Lean in.

Author

Chris Valdheims
July 01, 2023

Lately, I’ve felt like a stately dose of discomfort precedes every big creative move I make.

So much so that I’ve concluded that being uncomfortable is an integral part of the creative process.

It’s almost as if when I don’t feel discomfort, I’m not going far enough or digging deep enough.

I’ve made peace with the discomfort, and it’s liberating.

Of course, that took a while to get to. I wasn’t always at one with the dread of sharing something personal or new. In fact, avoidance of dread often held me back, and I would try to move away from it.

I hoped to eliminate discomfort; that’s the default and sensible answer. It was also the answer that led to creative stagnation.

Growth is uncomfortable, and if you try to make it comfortable, you don’t get to grow.

In this episode, I talk about a recent experience sharing profoundly personal creative work with people close to me. After I did that, I found myself lying in bed late at night, wondering if I had ruined my life.

I hadn’t ruined my life, but I did learn how to move in sync with discomfort and not avoid it. I will share some insights I gained that allowed me to act despite feeling well outside of my comfort zone.

After you listen, I hope you can use what I learned about leaning into discomfort (and learning to use discomfort as a guidepost) to do the same in your creative work.

PS - I would love to get some ratings and reviews on the podcast platforms if you can. It really helps the podcast to spread. So if you think my actions would help more people, I would love that support. No pressure, though. 🖤

PPS - THANK YOU to everyone listening and sharing your thoughts with me. That’s the gold, and it keeps me going and inspires me to improve and offer more constantly.