In my opinion, a blank canvas is one of the most daunting things that you can encounter. There a so many possibilities, so many ways it could be used, so many ways you could mess it up… A blank canvas is especially scary when you lack familiarity with the materials you plan to work with. But without it, new things can’t be built.
I come face to face with empty canvases on a regular basis. When working on new artwork, when trying to create a new piece of writing, when building the website that you are currently on. Actually, the process of setting up this new site was a whole ordeal.
Those of you who know me may be aware that back in 2018 I created a blog called ‘Mumbles and Murmurs’. It was an outlet to express my thoughts and share some of the lessons I learned in my day to day life. For various reasons I wanted to slightly evolve the blog and transition to a self-hosted site. This process came with various obstacles, from expanding my knowledge of web design to creating a more structured work process to figuring out what plugins and SEO are. However, I also faced some more general challenges, primarily, workload, fear of messing up and comparison. Challenges that I tend to encounter when embarking on most new projects.
I always say that I am the primary audience of my writing, so selfishly, I’m going to direct the rest of this post to myself (Ife). I want to briefly address these issues, giving some advice to my past self and reminding my future self of how to better cope next time.
Challenge 1: Workload
With every new project comes an attached workload, and it tends to seem like the more you understand the nature of the assignment, the longer the task list becomes. But Ife, my friend, that’s just part of life and being an adult. There are no parents or teachers to bail you out. No matter how good your idea is, if you don’t do the work to put it into action, no one will.
Yes, I know it can be overwhelming, but take it one step at a time. Pace yourself. Don’t focus on the skills you lack, but instead, work with what you’ve got and learn more along the way. I know how easy it is to retreat to the familiar, but its only outside your comfort zone that you can truly grow. So, suck it up kid and get to it.
Challenge 2: Fear of messing up
“Perfection is the enemy of progress.”
My friend, you just have to face the fact that you will, at some point, inevitably mess up. The realisation of goals requires commitment to a process, rarely is success achieved overnight. Failures and errors are arguably the most important part of that process because it is in their midst that learning is gained. So, what is the point of letting the fear of them immobilise you? Keep moving and learning and handle the mistakes as they come. Some so called ‘mess ups’ may even end up benefitting you more in the long term, than if you had got things right the first-time round.
Challenge 3: Comparison
“Face your front.”
Ife, I understand the need for benchmarks and references when starting something new, but your aim is not to replicate the work of another. Also, a lot of the products and images you come across are the result of months, if not years, of work. You are only at the beginning, so what good is it comparing your genesis with someone else’s completed efforts? Of course, yours will look subpar, you are in two completely different developmental stages.
Please remember that every journey is different, and the various stages will look different for each person and/or project. Focus on what is ahead of you, and the things you want to achieve, and make steps in that direction. This means having to go back to that workload and deal with the potential of making huge blunders, but how else will it get done?
The Start Line
Everything starts somewhere.
After the initial idea you have to make the most of the skills and resources at your disposal and be willing to learn more along the way. You will have to fall in love with the process and come face to face with failure, but eventually you will get there. Then one day, that daunting blank canvas filled with possibility will finally start to look like a masterpiece.
