A retrospective post from.Time.To get Scary!
This is one of those posts I found sitting unpublished in the archives of a blog I stopped using years ago, there seems to be dozens if them. Back around 2008, I was methodical and regular with my writing. But as work and life grew busier, finding even half an hour to sit down and write became increasingly rare, and blogging was one of the first things to fall by especially as I was struggling (as I do occasionally still) with juggling several different social media platforms.
I’m glad those days are behind me. Reading this old draft now, the message feels just as relevant as the day I wrote it.
Commit to Something Scary
A lot has happened in my life over the past few months. On the surface, my day-to-day activities didn't look out of the ordinary—I’m used to being busy. But beneath the routine, I noticed a subtle shift: I was spending fewer hours working each day and fewer days working each week.
Initially, I attributed this shift to pursuing a more "balanced" life. But after some honest self-analysis, I realized the truth: many of the items remaining on my to-do list required me to step outside my comfort zone.
I was putting off phone calls and follow-ups. I hesitated to reach out to people I didn't know well, especially those working in unfamiliar corners of the art world. Furthermore, many of the tasks I avoided involved making decisions and commitments for events six months, ten months, or even years down the line.
As crazy as it sounds, I was procrastinating simply because I was afraid—unsure if I would be up to the task when the time came.
What a waste of energy.
Fortunately, it's a problem with a straightforward solution: commitment followed by action.
Commit to something big, something new, or even something scary that you don't feel entirely ready for—then rise to meet it. As Herman Melville famously wrote, "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation."
The nature of the commitment matters far less than the act of stepping outside your comfort zone:
Approach three new galleries over the next month?
Book a stand at an art fair? or, open my studio for an weekend this year,
Launch a newsletter.
Begin a new series of work, or focus on an unfamiliar style or technique.
Teach a class, give a talk, or write an article.
It doesn't matter what chose—only that I committed and took decisive action to make it happen.
How to start today:
Write down a decision and tell someone about it.
Schedule time in my diary to research galleries, fairs, or events—then choose one and apply.
Set up a platform and write my first post or newsletter draft.
Outline a workshop, a talk, or an article topic I felt passionate about, but , What am I passionate about, unfortunately I am passionate about everything and nothing!
I know there is no need to know every detail or predict the final result but, did I know enough, I thought of that old joke, "I used to be indecisive but I'm not sure now!"
Just commit and get started for everything else will follow
