A Wild Erik

Life is short, you’re capable – Gwen Stefani “What You Waiting For”

I am well aware of the sentiment. I am familiar with the variations. I know the why, what, where, and most importantly the when. And yet I see myself falling into the trap so very often. It is a constant struggle.

There is no time like the present.
Perfection is an unobtainable construct.
The situation will never be perfect.

Start Now.

The list of things that I want to do only gets longer. I want to start my gaming channel again. I want to write about cinema more. I want to study a foreign language. I want to travel. I want to practice playing the piano.

So many “I WANTS” but very little “I DO”. And it’s because I’m waiting for the timing to open up in my schedule. Or I’m waiting to have all my social media accounts lined up and connected. Or that I need to run some computer updates before I can work on the music.

Or this…
Or that…
Or the other…

But the truth is that nothing is actually stopping me from doing any of those things. I -find- things to put in my way to stop me from doing the work. Or moving forward. Or starting something new that I enjoy. But why? Fear.

We live in a world now where if you put out anything creative it is thought that it needs to be perfect and marketable and sustainable and profitable. So we think about schedules for Twitch streaming. Or needing to write every day. Or perfectly polished and Pintresty posts for the ‘Gram or for TikTok or whatever whatever. What Ever. Because god forbid someone see it and comment. The Internet is truly a harsh mistress.

Maybe the pendulum is already swinging back the other direction. Maybe not. But there are some really important things to be reminded about when stepping into any creative outlet. Whether it is to be a job or a hobby or an occasional thing.

No one is perfect at the start. In any job. In any field. In anything they’ve ever done. No one is an over night success. There is no age limit. Not everything needs to be monetized.

And it will be hard. Because the internet is loud. Because our own internal voices are loud. Because we might not see progress right away. Because we might not have an audience. Or any of the other dozen things I’ve told myself at stop me from doing something or even to keep me from starting.

But I’m done not doing. I’ve always tried to have a bias for action in the things that I need to do. But now I want one in the things that I want to do. I want to go to the gym more. I want to make more time for retro gaming. I want to write some music.

And I will.