Leave the lightning to the amateurs

“Creativity is not a divine act. It is not a lightning strike. While creativity can seem like magic, like every magic trick there is a method behind it. A timeless creation will not simply appear. No matter how much we’d like to believe otherwise, history does not bear out the idea of inspiration flowing unheeded from the muses.”
–Ryan Holiday, Perennial Seller

To have a creative idea is an exhilarating experience. To see something that was once only electrical waves in your brain become a physical thing—that’s exciting and rewarding. But we fool ourselves when we think this “lighting strike” feeling is necessary for good creative work.

It’s not. 

When we were younger, when we first discovered our creativity, we danced in a thunderstorm of ideas. Every idea seemed good because every idea felt like a lightning bolt. It was simply our first experience with electricity. As we get older, and create more work, and possibly reach a plateau, that electric feeling will wear off. 

This does not mean our creativity is any less meaningful. On the contrary, the more we do our work, the more we owe it to ourselves to edit it down, in order to produce something of high quality. The longer we’re on this journey, the greater responsibility we have to our communities to edit, tease, improve the work. In this way, the better the work becomes. The more people will find it and share it. The more meaning it gains.

Trust the process. Stick to your methods. Let the work speak for itself. Leave the lightning to the amateurs.