Art is your small cabin within the infinite

Any tool that provides limitless possibilities provides an ability to create art. There can be millions of combinations of notes on a guitar or a piano, words can be combined almost infinitely to make some sort of sense, code can be written for computers in countless ways, a line can be bent in limitless possibilities and colours can be combined in infinite unique combinations.

Approaching any such tool can also feel daunting for the same reason. In front of it we can come across as inadequate or ill-equipped. Definite and puny in front of the colossally undefinable. We can never master the whole of it. If we accept that though and respect whats in front of us, we try to find a small place in it. A place defined by our experiences. We strive to find a corner in it that allows us to express our limited being in this cosmic space. The more we express the bigger our space grows and we learn to explore more. Walking new landscapes within and without.

Separating Thinking from Doing

Thinking can be good at the start of any project. It helps set direction and allows to plan out the tools needed on the journey. But by standing on the starting line and hoping to plan out everything that might go right or wrong on the relay ahead doesn’t take things forward. Setting a direction has its own purpose and actually running has its own. One needs to end for the other to start.

To overcome the attachment to thinking, a resolution has to be made. To start with the bare essentials and trust that we are capable of handling most other things while in the flow of execution. If at all we come across something that makes us regret our ill preparation, include that on the thinking list before the next journey. Any thought beyond acting and reacting while in execution mode is bound to drain energy, slow you down or even mislead you from your earlier defined goals.

What though when the task is not a relay but a marathon? Split it into relays and at each break, use the consolidated learnings from the last stretch to get better in the next.

Just like inhaling without exhaling, thinking without doing can be fatal for your mind.

Minimize your Cues

The Habit loop (from Atomic Habits)

CUE - CRAVING - RESPONSE - REWARD

Everyday life, physically and virtually is littered with cues. Many of the cues that one has in their physical and virtual environment get consumed almost instantly and create cravings that create a discomfort until they are responded upon. But since there are a million cues not everything can be acted upon and thus they generate a feeling of inadequacy in us. Unmet cravings, conscious and sub-conscious, drive us into the ground and make focusing on the thing of importance a struggle.

The difference between focus and distraction boils down to what cue you choose to follow up on. Mindfulness trains the mind to focus on the breath and not take any audio-visual or sensory cue beyond what it is. It tries to stem craving from being born. Minimalism allows the brain to have more energy by eliminating the cues that are detrimental in the environment. A good clean room or table to work on and a minimal virtual environment filled only with curated tools can go a long way in productivity and a satisfactory work-day.