In all transparency, I sat down to
write this entry with a title and general topic in mind, not to mention a
feeling that I have written about this before. Sure enough, a quick “ctrl+f”
(known to college students as the answer to all busy work assignments) revealed
that I had in fact already written a very similar piece to what I had intended
to write presently. Devoid of an original topic, then, I was left with the
conundrum “what should I write about now. Well, why don’t I just write about
this?” I thought. Certainly not original, as I have written about writing
numerous times, in fact it is one of my favorite topics, particularly when I am
able to incorporate some kind of omniscient narrator. But, I assure you, this
particular piece will be unique, in that today I am writing specifically on the
idea of originality, and what is more original than that.
We all hit creative ruts, that is
those of us that regularly create anything. And I do mean anything. Of course,
your classic examples, musicians find themselves coming back to the same chord
progressions or grooves (I personally find familiar rhythms one of the biggest
traps in writing music), artists use the same techniques with which they are
proficient to capture their subject or concept, and writers begin repeating
themselves in their expression of ideals. But even beyond these classic
examples, I am sure the feeling hits people in every avenue of their life.
Teachers writing the same lesson plan with a different topic, realtors using
the same pitch for every open house, and I am sure advertisers sit around
wondering how else you can possibly make a soft drink look good other than
putting a bunch of condensation droplets on the bottle and having a celebrity carry
it around. The human psyche is a roller coaster of inspiration and repetition.
The same concept outlines mild
depressive episodes. As you continue to passively move through your daily
routine the same way over and over, with little to look forward to because you
are just going to wake up and do it all over again tomorrow, it is no wonder
people get depressed (depression here referring to the acute emotion not the
clinical pathology). So what is the cure, how do you find something to get
excited about again? The good news is, this typically always resolves itself
with time. Inevitably something will happen to break the streak, perhaps
something as simple as the weather finally warming up so you can go outside
without being miserable. However, you are also more than capable of intervening
yourself. While there is likely nothing you can do about the weather (and if
there is I have a business model I would like to discuss with you), certainly
you can find something new, or even old, so old that you have forgotten about
it, in your life to excite you again. So explore new hobbies, explore old
hobbies, just explore in general. Go somewhere you have never been, or go
somewhere you haven’t been in years. Write a blog, learn an instrument, train
for a 5k, 10k, half marathon, what have you, learn to ride a motorcycle, most
anything you can think of you can learn/do online or through an app (I do not,
however, recommend learning to ride a motorcycle via an app). The point of it
all is, when life continues to give you lemons week after week, stop making
lemonade already. Make a lemon meringue pie or a nice lemon butter sauce to
pair with fresh lobster tail.
-AMS
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