When is the last time you had an opinion but didn’t share it with anyone because you didn’t think anyone would care? When is the last time…
So what happens when you don’t take yourself seriously?
You spend a lot of time dreaming but not actually doing. You come up with ideas but you stop yourself before you even try.
Or you do try something but you give up quickly because you decide it’s not good enough, no one will like it, and it was a stupid idea anyway.
But the worst part happens ten years later when you look back on that thing you almost started and you realize there was something there. It wasn’t half as bad as what you thought at the time and you might have really accomplished something if you’d only stuck with it.
This is from "Do You Take Yourself Seriously?" by Sarah Cooper. (I had no idea she'd been spying on me all these years.)
That post cuts right to my core and distills a lot of my recent thoughts and feelings down to a nice, easy-to-read, hard-to-read article. I've been feeling some burnout in my job as a web designer, and I've felt a pull to venture into other areas—namely illustration, lettering, and motion graphics. It's a pull I've had for a long time, but one that I've only half listened to and pursued. I now realize that's because I haven't been taking myself seriously.
What happens when you don’t take yourself seriously?
You end up living a life you aren’t all that proud of. You keep waiting to do that thing that you’re passionate about, you keep waiting to do that thing that’s going to make you feel successful. You fill up your time with a bunch of things you think you have to do, but nothing you really want to do. You work hard and you do a good job but you also feel trapped inside yourself, putting on a show that someone else is directing.
No more waiting. If I want to be taken seriously as an illustrator, or a letterer, or a motion designer—if I want to grow and be successful in those fields—I need to take myself more seriously. I need to recognize that The Gap isn't going to get any smaller unless I put in real effort to grow, practice daily, put myself out there, and share my progress (warts and all).
This is a call to action for me—and for you. We need to fill our time with things that we want to do. We need to stop waiting to do the things we're passionate about. We need to work hard in pursuit of the things that will make us feel good about ourselves, that will make us feel successful.
What's your passion? What is it that gets you excited? Start making time for that thing. Start taking it seriously. Start taking yourself seriously.
This is my next adventure, and I hope you'll join me.
