Monday, April 26, 2010

The double life

You probably didn't know it when you got into the business, but you're leading a double life.

Unlike people that work at "regular" jobs, creative people march to a different drummer. It's true whether you're a reporter, artist, sculptor, or writer. You have, in effect, two distinct personalities.

And very often your creative side is the dominant one.

You could have the perfect life away from work; the Norman Rockwell family, terrific friends, enough money to live comfortably. But unless your creative side is happy, it sometimes seems that none of the good stuff makes a difference.

It's often hard for non-TV people to understand this. They don't understand why we seemingly have the world by the tail yet often feel empty, like there's an empty spot in the soul. It's the creative fulfillment side; always changing, always demanding, rarely satisfied.

If you feel this way, relax, it's perfectly normal.

The trick is not to let the creative soul suck the life out of everything else. Creative people always want more, even if we reach what we thought were our goals. In college your dream is that first television job; within a few months, that dream is no longer fulfilling, and we set another goal. And another. And another. The result is often a feeling of emptiness, even if your "other life" is hitting on all cylinders.

What's my point? Well, these days, the rules of the business keep changing. The goals you attain might not match the dreams you imagined. So it's important to keep your creative side in check, to enjoy and cherish the good things in your life rather than let your quest for a goal dominate everything else.

2 comments:

turdpolisher said...

dead on, and well said. took me almost 20 years to figure it out. now, it's all good.

1.5 Years Left... said...

First time poster, frequent reader:
This post is so true... but I'd love to hear more about how to fill this void I'm feeling. I'm one of those people always looking for greener pastures, I'm 6 months into the first job and counting down the days left in my contract. Maybe a second job would do the trick? Oh wait... can't do that- frowned upon by station higher-ups. Thanks for this post, makes me think a lot more about slowing down.