30 Seconds to Change the Quality of What You Create Today
If you could have seen me just before I sat down to write this, you would have thought I had lost my mind.
And let me tell you, to an on-looker, I must have looked like a complete fool.
The cringe-factor was at eleven.
The scene was so awkward that if you had been walking into the room to say hello to me, once you saw what I was doing you would have quietly turned around and tip-toed away hoping that I hadn’t noticed you were there.
So what was I doing?
I was standing in my bedroom with one foot about ten-inches in front of the other, my legs in a half-lunge. My arms were in a running position and I was pumping them open-handed back and forth like I was sprinting the 100-meter dash.
For thirty seconds, I was huffing and puffing, arms flailing, but I wasn’t going anywhere.
So why was I making a fool of myself doing this strange exercise?
I’ll tell you why: I was changing my physiological state in preparation for writing this essay. I was changing my state so that I could create.
If you want to be more creative and less predictable, if you want to experience new breakthroughs in your art, try changing your state just before creating. How do you do it?
Let me break it down for you.
First of all, what do I mean by “state?” The state that you’re in is your physical and emotional condition, right now, in the moment. It’s different from mood, which refers to something more lasting and general.
Your state affects how you see your present moment, which is to say how you see the world and your life. Because life is experienced through a series of states.
It should go without saying that a low-energy, burnt-out, apathetic state is not going to light up your creative fireworks.
So why is it that we spend all day on our phones, sitting at our desks, lounging on the couch—and then expect to be able to turn on the creative tap in a blink? As if just by sitting down we will be able to overcome the physiological inertia of our state?
When we are lethargic and uninspired, it’s no wonder our creative sessions are lethargic and uninspired too.
If you are in a vibrant, positive, open state, your creative powers will also be vibrant, positive, and open.
Write this down: when it’s time to create, change your state.
But how? Isn’t changing your state hard? It’s not like I can just change the way I feel, right?
I have good news for you.
Changing your physiological state is easy and immediate. And changing your physiological state has a huge impact on your emotional state.
Tony Robbins has taught this for years. (I know, I know. Tony Robbins? Talk about cringe. Just stay with me.)
The fastest way to change your state is through short bursts of physical exertion.
Sprint fifty yards. Do ten burpees. Or do the funky running-in-place exercise I described above (which I learned from Robbins): do 15 seconds with one foot forward, then switch feet and do 15 more seconds.
Changing their state is what athletes are doing during warm ups before they have to perform.
It’s what bands do in their pre-show rituals.
A comedian wouldn’t go on stage without getting warmed up (it’s why they have an opener too—to change the state of the audience). And you shouldn’t go into your prime creative time without getting warmed up either.
Okay, so if it’s that easy, why doesn’t everyone do this? Why don’t all creators sprint or do jumping jacks or pump themselves up before creating?
It’s because for most of us, the fear of embarrassment and discomfort is stronger than the drive to create something unique, beautiful, or new.
I call it the Embarrassment Threshold.
Write this down too: your Embarrassment Threshold indicates your creative limits.
The more comfortable you are with discomfort—including the discomfort of looking silly in front of others—the more you will widen your creative pipeline.
So remember these two things:
To get into a more creative state, use short bursts of physical activity before you create.
Practice looking silly in front of other people. That way, when you learn a life-changing creative approach or principle, it doesn’t die on the vine because you were too worried about being embarrassed to implement it.
I’ll give you a good example of someone who brings both of these concepts together: Jacob Collier.
Watch any video of Jacob Collier, and you will see that he’s at peace with looking strange and doing strange things. As Whitney Bauck of The New York Times put it, he has an iconoclastic fashion sense that “fancies crayon colors, clashing patterns and tie-dyed Crocs.” He brings a stuffed-animal crocodile with him on stage. His version of dancing is a gesticulating sort of flailing that most would not even attempt in the privacy of their own bedrooms, let alone on stage in front of thousands of people.
Jacob Collier
Collier’s Embarrassment Threshold is so high in the clouds it can’t be seen with the naked eye.
Watch those same videos of Collier again, and you’ll see someone perpetually in a peak creative state. Energized, positive, open, and electric. And he seems to be this way all the time.
Watch how his positivity gently guides Tori Kelly through her insecurities singing crazy-hard licks on “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
How he invites you into his room and his creativity just rubs off on you.
How he breaks down his wild music arrangements with a frenetic joy that always seems to be in limitless supply.
So here’s your assignment. The next time you sit down to create, before you do, take 30 seconds to do something physical, to get your blood pumping. Pump your arms. Sprint down your street. Jump up and down like you’re at the best concert you’ve ever attended.
And don’t worry about looking silly while you’re doing it.