Hiding might be comfortable—”if it weren’t for the way it leads to suffering a thousand small deaths.”
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Notes
Hiding is comfortable, but not an option if you trust yourself and want to make change happen.
Stand-up comedy offers no place to hide, which is part of the attraction for comics.
Other ways to make an impact may not be as “naked” as stand-up, but all involve shipping without hiding, despite the possibility of failure.
“If you care enough, it’s worth doing as many times as it takes.”
Thoughts
I had a conversation today with a friend and former student. Of all my students, and probably of anyone I know personally, she is the most intuitive as an artist and writer. When she works, she works quicky, with really strong instincts. And since she works quickly—as a writer, and as a visual artist (and, at times, the two together), she learns and improves quickly.
For the past couple of years though—perhaps because of the pandemic, perhaps some other reason (she didn’t know)—she’s wanted “not to be perceived,” not to be “seen,” both at a personal and an artistic level. She’s written, pseudonymously, quite a bit, but that’s not the work she values. But, to use Seth’s terminology in this chapter, she’s been hiding.
And that double standard I mentioned earlier popped up in a starkly recognizable way. I was really happy to hear that she was considering getting herself and her work back into the world, and I offered such encouragement as I could. But everything I said to her—and a lot that I didn’t, since I know that too much encouragement can create a backlash—could just as easily have been said to me. Though our situations are different, though our reasons for hiding are different, I could see that the words I was saying (and not saying) could just as easily apply to me.
No, not “could” apply. Do apply.
But for whatever reason, while I believe the words that I said (or not) to her, I dismiss them when I apply them to myself.
So that’s what I’ll be working through for a bit: reviewing that advice and trying to open myself up to exploring it myself.
Hiding is comfortable, but I don’t really like it.
This series is meant to capture my thoughts as I work through Seth Godin’s The Practice. It’s a book with over 200 (very short) chapters, which I hope to work through and, I further hope, to implement over time.
If you’re interested in more of Godin’s ideas, or my thoughts about them, you can check out this collection of posts. Note that if you’re more interested in the former, you should probably get Godin’s book and read it yourself; my notes will be both incomplete and idiosyncratic, and my thoughts will relate to my own experience.
But if my thoughts resonate with you, or if you think I’m just silly, I welcome your comments.