The creative journey

“Which creative field should I focus on, there are just so many options!”

This is how I felt at the start of my creative journey, and from what I can tell, how many creatives feel when trying to “pick a lane” to hone their work. Armed with the internet, creative taste, and the desire to make a good life without compromise… how can someone actually choose? There’s so much nuance and “it depends” with everything, but here’s my singular answer that I wish I’d been exposed to much sooner as a way forward:

Focus on how you want to spend your days, not the end result of a made-up career in your head.

What you do every day — whether that’s making, sharing, connecting, learning, writing, or thinking — will determine the path you’ll find yourself on. You can’t just “choose” to be a photographer, you have to take photos. You don’t become a designer by liking well-designed things… you do it by creating your own, regularly. You don't become an author by reading books... you do it by writing.

Therefore, it’s paramount to focus on the actions, and how doing them makes you feel. Do lots of things, take inventory, make adjustments, repeat — this is the path to finding what to do. Consider things like:

• Do you enjoy solitude or deep work?

• Do you feel energized by constant motion?

• Does the idea of a routine make you anxious?

• Do you need hard and fast goals to feel motivated?

• Do you feel fulfilled or drained at the end of the day?

• Does having a boss feel helpful, or frustrating?

• Do you feel like your best self in this work?

Don’t overthink it. Clarity is earned, not found.