On a camping trip this summer, I checked the sky. It’s common for thunderstorms to rain down on a Colorado afternoon. I observed the clouds to whether I should take a hike or take cover.
A childhood memory of learning about clouds floated to mind. I recalled a list of types of clouds. But the only word I could remember now was cumulus. And which were cumulus clouds, the fluffy ones or the skittering, long clouds?
No matter – the names of the clouds were merely information and completely useless to keep me safe. Now I needed knowledge. I needed to read the clouds to take appropriate action. I thought of people who live according to the seasons like indigenous people and farmers who learn how to read the sky, the clouds, the soil, and the air. They don’t just memorize information in a classroom. They gain knowledge and thus wisdom that they can act on.
I’ve been obsessed about this concept of knowledge or information and what this means for us, dedicated to the act of writing and creating. Consider the information you’ve gotten about how to sustain a thriving creative practice. Some concepts include:
- Write every day.
- Set a timer – use the Pomodoro Technique!
- Keep track of your word count.
- Use social accountability by telling someone you are going to write.
All of those practices can be of use, certainly. But until they are adopted and adapted to your needs and your lifestyle, they are just bits of information. And information without implementation is just…pretty useless.
Unfortunately, these bits of information are not benign. If you haven’t taken these practices on, chances are you’re beating yourself up about it. You’re plagued by not good enough-ness:
Why can’t I just write every day?
Why does the timer just make me freeze up?
Everyone else does it this way.
What’s wrong with me?
My work as a coach and facilitator is to help you develop your own applied knowledge around what works for you. It’s all just someone else’s good idea until you put it into practice. Suggestions like ‘set a timer’ or ‘free-write your first draft’ either become part of your practice or are set aside. Only through consistent trial and error do you amass the knowledge of your own process. And once you have this knowledge, you continue to build your wisdom and satisfaction around what you create or write.
Gain knowledge you can act on
The barrier between information and knowledge is time. Most of us give up way too soon. We take on information – a creative practice – for a week or two, maybe a month. A week certainly isn’t enough time to gain enough experience in knowing what works. A month, maybe. In my four and five-week-long groups, we definitely get a lot of knowledge about our own style.
But it’s not easy to sustain a practice on knowledge gained in just a few weeks. Think of it – would you marry someone you knew only for a month or two? No, you wouldn’t! Because you wouldn’t have gone through the wringer of life that gives you all kinds of challenges to bear.
Same with a creative practice – committing to one thing for a long period of time gives you the knowledge you need. Over time you learn your:
- easy excuses – and how to not fall prey to them.
- true motivation – it’s rarely what’s on the surface.
- reentry strategies – what works for you to get back on track when you fall off.
- joy – making things isn’t all painful drudgery; we make things because of the love and joy we feel for our ideas and art forms.
This is all the stuff we work on in my coaching group, the Atelier. It’s eight months long for a reason. Developing as a writer or artist goes beyond the surface of information and ideas to real wisdom and knowledge about what works for you to succeed creatively. Members thrive in this environment because they realize that making things isn’t a quick, surfacy kind of thing.
What’s your experience with information versus knowledge when it comes to your creativity? Share your thoughts below.
And if you have a project that you are ready to earn knowledge around, check out the Atelier. We have a few spots left for smart, soulful people ready to dig in and learn about themselves in relationship with a project.
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