22 Dec Public Journal :: 002 :: “Expectations and the Creative Process”

The creative process isn’t complete until you deal with your expectations.

The Four-Fold Way, which I believe originated with Angeles Arrien’s book of the same name, has proven to be a great framework for me in understanding the creative process. 

It goes like this…

1.) Show up/Choose to be present

The only way to make something is to actually decide to bring yourself to engage with the process. Attendance matters.

2.) Pay Attention to what has heart and meaning

To me this means limiting distractions and zeroing in on the many micro tasks that contribute to the whole of the work. This piece is what facilitates flow for me in the creative process which allows me to get lost in my work. When I’m in flow state my work is the most enjoyable and effective.

3.) Tell the truth without blame or judgment/Be honest

Creative honesty means that I address the things in the process as I see them. I do what I can to serve the work as truthfully as I know how.  This part is certainly enabled by the focus that comes from paying attention. Creative honesty leads to creative integrity or a thorough development of the work.

4.) Be open to outcome, not attached to outcome

I’d like to camp out on this last one a bit. I’ve realized that this one has everything to do with expectations. While the other three components that contribute to the creative process are extremely practical, I realized that I’d lost sight of the practicality in this fourth idea.

I’m considering that the only way I can be open to outcome and not attached to it is to manage my expectations well. I believe that this management of expectation is as much a part of the creative process as any other aspect of it. However, so often I’ve neglected to engage with my expectations in an intentional or proactive way. Even when I ignore these expectations, they still exist and impact the process in an important way. 

I think this same thing happens in relationships. We have expectations about what we will get from others or how they will respond. Many times we aren’t even aware of these expectations. In our unawareness our expectations still impact how we feel which often influences how we show up to others. When those expectations aren’t met we can grow resentful. If we are unaware of those expectations, that resentment can feel very disorienting/confusing.

All of this can happen as we relate to the creative process as well. 

It’s not that I’ve never done a good job of managing these expectations. It’s that at times I’ve lost sight of the fact that I have to address them.

The way I’m making detachment from outcomes a practice is by completing my creative processes with a little reflection. During this reflection, I’m going to unearth what expectations are living beneath the surface relative to the thing I just made. 

Here’s a real world example of what I wish I had done this past week:

“Just finished a video with two of my homies. I’m grateful that I really resonate with the thing we just made. I put out a video with just the drums first and it got more engagement than I expected for it to get. I’m honestly expecting that this video with the full arrangement will get twice the engagement. Because of the people involved with it and how much I dig it, I expect that some gospel legends will see it and share. Then they’ll reach out. Next we’ll each make a million dollars and have the most successful year of our respective careers… 

BUT I cannot control any of that. I let go of any of this happening. And I can do so with a sense of peace because I love what I made and I loved the process of making it. Whether it gets 10 views or 10 million views, I’m at peace because I showed up, I focused, and I was honest. The outcome doesn’t change any of that. I’m grateful that anyone ever interacts with anything I do. I accept the contentment that comes along with that gratitude.”

The bottomline is that it’s tough not to be attached to outcomes if I’m not conscious of them. The awareness provided by reflection allows me to see what outcomes I’m anticipating. Once I see them, I can make the conscious choice to detach from them.