On recency bias, boredom, and doing creative work

15. MAR. 2024

Ever wonder why we are drawn to stories?

If you do, you might want to watch this.​

All right, here's a bit of inspiration for you this week.

1. On creative expression:

"We all have a deep desire to express our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It is an overwhelming, deep-seated drive to share the innermost parts of our being with others."

​— John Whye on Where Would We Be Without Creativity and Inspiration​

One question he wrote got me thinking from the article:

"What would the world be like without creative people?"

The world would not be an interesting place to be without creativity. It's a blessing to have the ability to create, and it's within each of us—just expressed differently.

2. On recency bias:

"The internet has a recency bias. Old ideas aren’t resurfaced enough. We’re obsessed with what’s happening right now. Articles, blog posts, interviews, documentaries. You name it. The world needs older ideas."

— David Perell

Reading this reminded me of a podcast episode on How I write featuring Cultural Tutor where he said:

"​​The problem with new books isn't that they're bad. The problem is that everybody else is reading them, which doesn't give you an edge. Reading what everybody else is reading is a fast-track to thinking what everybody else is thinking and writing what everybody else is writing. Reading old books is a simple way to make your thinking more distinct."

3. On not waiting for the perfect moment:

Action is better than nothing. Even if that action doesn't provide immediate results. Opportunities will show up sooner or later. You just have to walk no matter how obscure the path ahead of you is.

4. On boredom:

“I'm a big believer in boredom. Boredom allows one to indulge in curiosity, and out of curiosity comes everything."

— Steve Jobs

Similarly, Albert Einstein said:

"Creativity is the residue of time wasted."

Isn't it about time that we make boredom great again?

I wrote more about how we can leverage boredom to fuel our creativity. Trust me, you want to read it. Especially if you're not bored.

5. On doing creative work:

"For years, the message I got was: If you can do anything else, you should. That confused me, because I thought, Well, sure, I could do anything else. I could be a damned surgeon if I wanted to! But now I know that if I don’t do creative work… I suffer. I’m not a whole person. If I don’t show up to the studio, it’s harder to show up for the people in my life. (A lesson I learned the hard way as a young dad.) Sure, I could do something else, but to not have a creative practice would diminish me and make me a not-so-nice person to be around."

— Austin Kleon

This resonated with me on a deep level. If I'm a not-so-nice person on a particular day, know that it's because I didn't do any creative work.

If you enjoyed the issue, please share it with someone you might think it will inspire. 🌱

If you aren't subscribed yet, you can do it here.
​

Until next time,

Stay inspired!

Sharmarke
​
P.S. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened​

​

​
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​