What if the biggest chance we take is to not take enough creative risks? This month’s speaker, Cynthia Morris, has a theory on why we don’t take creative risks. 

It’s human nature to play it safe (for most people, that is).  We’re great at justifying the status quo, because we know exactly what to expect — even if it’s dissatisfying.  We find reasons not to do what we want to do—and it can all seem perfectly reasonable. The unknown can seem terrifying.  We convince ourselves that we’re being smart and realistic, until we have more time, money or knowledge.  But it’s in that same place – that place of deep uncertainty — where creativity can become fully charged.  

So many times in life, we finally get around to doing something and then wonder, “Why did I wait so long?” If we had known the positive results would far outweigh the discomfort and worry of trying something new, we would have pushed ourselves sooner.  But we never know that in advance. We can only know that our reasons to do something must be greater than our excuses not to.

In Cynthia Morris’s work to keep creatives moving beyond their comfort zones, she’s developed a theory about the excuses we all use to not put our work out there:

Fake Excuse # 1:  Time

• I’m too busy with my “real job” to do what I love.
• I don’t have time to work on what I’m passionate about.
• I’ll get to it—someday.

Fake Excuse # 2:  Money

• I don’t have the money to get started.
• I need to continue earning what I earn now.
• What if I can’t make any money at it?

Fake Excuse # 3:  Knowledge

• It’s all been done before.
• Maybe this isn’t such a great idea after all.
• I don’t know where/how to start.

Fake Excuse # 4:  It’s just a Side Project

• It’s just passion project – something I do in my spare time.
• If you’re not gonna go full time – then why do it all?

Would you like to know about how other creatives have wrestled with these excuses – and won?!  Come give a listen to Cynthia at our next Creative Mornings chat on November 7, 2014, and find out!

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses… The gift is yours — it is an amazing journey — and you alone are responsible for the quality of it.”                                                                               

                                                                      ~Bob Moawad

by Amy Fisk, Creative Mornings: Denver