This is one of the greatest displays of the creative process I've seen. John Mayer perfectly demonstrates something that many of my favorite artists all say: You become creative by creating. "You just keep going 'til you get something," Mayer says/sings. "You gotta keep forcing it, forcing it, forcing it…it doesn’t matter [what comes out of your mind/mouth].” Dr. Andrew Huberman talks about how the brain circuits that turn on before those involved in creativity are of the stress system. I've heard him use 3 analogies to explain this. 1) It’s like you have to wade through sewage before you can swim in clear water. 2) It’s like when you try to lift your max on the bench press—it takes time to work up to that weight. 3) It’s like your best creative work is on the other side of a door at the top of a staircase—it takes time and effort to get up the stairs and through that door. In other words, Dr. Huberman says, you become more creative the more you create. Many artists talk similarly about what Mayer refers to in the clip as "ouija boarding" (just sort of spitting out words and sounds). John Legend says his songs start with what he calls “the mumble track.” “It’s just me humming and mumbling nonsense,” he said. Judd Apatow says his movie scripts are all a product of the Down-Up theory: “Get the ideas DOWN then fix them UP.” “Give yourself permission to suck," Judd says. "Anything goes. Just get something down.” Even if it’s nonsense, he says. Keep forcing it, forcing it, forcing it. - - - Before I started writing online, I told Ryan Holiday I was just waiting to know for certain what I wanted to write about. “Just start," he said. "You’re trying to map out the whole 9 innings. Just throw the first pitch…You’re better off starting imperfectly than being paralyzed by the delusion of perfection.” Rather than being paralyzed by the delusion that creativity comes to you, you're better off "forcing it, forcing it, forcing it," as Mayer said. "Go get it from the universe." Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!
