522 - The Unexpected Thing that Suddenly Unlocked My Creative Brain

0:02On the creative journey, it's easy to get lost, but don't worry, you'll lift off, sometimes you'll just need a creative pep talk.

0:20every day seems to feel manageable for most everyday people but not for this guy uh not for all the creative people that i know everyday life and and trying to exist in this world can be a bit much it can be difficult you can feel like you hit a wall at some point where it starts to just feel like living well is just going to be impossible. And I've experienced that lots of times. However, you know, as I've built my life and creative practice, I feel like that less and less. I probably only feel like that once or twice a week, one or two days a week instead of every day, which is a massive improvement.

1:09And I want to share with you this unexpected thing that helped me unlock my creative brain in a huge way. And it was really essential to being able to publish 10 plus books and 500 episodes of this show and work with clients like Xbox and Apple. And I want to share that thing with you today. I'm going to share what that shift is, why I think it works, and then how I think it works. And then at the end, I'm going to share this exercise that I'm calling turn on co-op mode that's going to help you reawaken your creative soul today. Okay? Hopefully. A little bit. At least get it rolling, baby. At least get, you know, reacquainted with it.

2:01Okay? Maybe reawakens too big of a promise, but just feeling it again. Okay, let's do it.

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3:53with the rapidly changing environments that we find ourselves in it can feel harder and harder to be a creative person that wall that you feel like you have to scale feels steeper and steeper and steeper. And let's be honest, the environment was never that friendly to creative type folks to begin with. And so what do you do when you find yourself in this place where you just want to rage quit and throw in the towel? I'll tell you what you do. The answer is video games. okay when life real life is just too difficult and no fun anymore turn to fake life video games they're easier they're a lot more fun it really can help you disassociate from the horrors of modern life um i'm kind of i'm kind of joking uh and of course in a video game you can also get stuck which that really sucks when you're stuck in life you turn to video games and now you're stuck in the damn video game.

5:01It's happened to me so many times. I like those like open world games. Been a longtime fan of Zelda. I remember all the way back in like sixth grade when I got Ocarina of Time, I was playing that game. I was like, this is the best moment in my life, fake life or real life. I was obsessed with that game. So good until I got to the freaking water temple. Okay. I was so stuck and I tried everything. I don't remember exactly like how you end up getting in there, whatever, but it's like, there's just, just giant wall that you have to get on. And I'm thinking, I got to get this triple jump, right? I got to use a, maybe if I blow up a bomb, it'll kind of like blast me over the wall.

5:44And I'm trying to hit the buttons in the perfect order and, you know, be quick enough to get up there and nothing I'm doing is working. And I end up just giving up. and being like, I guess I'm just not good enough to play this game. And a little while later, a few months later, a friend who I was bonding over Zelda with checks in with me and they're like, Andy, how's it going? Did you beat the game? Like the end is awesome, isn't it? And I'm like, don't even go there, okay? I got stuck on the water temple. I am just not good enough to beat this game. So I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I'd respect your distance and privacy, please.

6:32And they're like, oh, what? What do you mean? What happened? I was like, you know, that part where I can't, you got to jump over that wall. Like, I just can't nail that kind of distance. And they're like, no, dude, you just got to like shoot an arrow at that lantern and the place fills with water and you just like swim right in. And I was like, wait, what? And he's like, yeah, it's not that you're not good enough. It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not you. It's not that you couldn't adapt to the environment. It's that you need to adapt the environment to you. And it's true in this world too.

7:17In fake life and real life, sometimes the problem isn't you. It's that you are a magical, creative elf and you have the powers to change the environment. That the environment that you're in, this is the environment that the people before you created. Now, I've been teased about how much I bring up the movie The Matrix on this show. I don't know if it just, in 1999, it must have been like 13 years old, saw it in the movie theater. It just either changed me or traumatized me. I don't know, but I've thought a lot about it since and still think about it quite a bit. And I've heard that it's based on this book, Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard, which is all about how we're living in a simulation, but not in the, we're in a computer game, we're in a video game kind of way per se, but more that when you're born into this world, you're told like, this is the world, welcome to the world.

8:23This is the way it is, except for that is not true. That the way things are in human civilization aren't just the way that they are, like it's a fact of life. The civilization was created by the people that you were born into, that it was tailored to them. You know, one of the things that is incredible about being a human is we're not that well adapted to any particular environment. Like, you know, we constantly have to change and terraform our environment so that we can live all over the globe. So if this environment doesn't feel hospitable to you, it is your job to terraform it, reform it, change it.

9:17Yeah, I'm not saying that you don't need to have some better habits or that there aren't things that you have to work on on yourself. Yes, those are true. However, I want to do a little series on this podcast of a few episodes called the Creative World Building Series. And they get at a massive shift that took place in me when I was in my early 20s that really helped me see that the people that are creative, that find ways to thrive, they have to build their own little world that works for them because the one they were born into was not made for them and so what was that unexpected shift that thing that helped me unlock my creative brain yes it was the world building thing but it goes before that if you are going to take it upon yourself to build your own little world to change things in this world you have to start with the idea that your weirdness your difference isn't the problem that the reason you feel uncomfortable at this party isn't because you primarily and that you have to shift to feeling like on a fundamental level your weirdness is a good thing this isn't a bug in the simulation.

10:48It is a feature. It is why we are able to adapt and shift and grow with the environment and scale those different obstacles that we find in our paths as humans. And it's been true since the beginning of our species. And it's true about all the species on this planet that these mutations, these differences, they are the thing that keep us dynamic and agile and interesting for that matter. And so the big shift that changed for me, and it might seem like a little thing, but I want to get into a little bit why it is so gravitationally relevant to your thriving as a creative person is starting with you are a good thing and you are worthy of manipulating the environment, changing the environment, building a little world where you can thrive because the things that you need are reasonable.

11:50They are worthwhile. They are good.

12:10All right, so let's talk about what I'm saying and what I'm not saying. So we'll start with what I am saying. I'm saying that the most important thing that you can do as a creative person to unlock your creative potential and your potential as a person is to start with a positive view of self, like believing that you are a good thing on a foundational level. But what I'm not saying is that everything you do and all your habits and everything you've ever done have all been good and you're amazing. And yeah, there's no problems, nothing to work on, nothing to grow out of. I am a big believer that you do need to kind of face the shadow self, that you have to examine your life, that you need to address your behaviors and how they affect you and how they affect other people.

13:09I think all of that is key, but you're not going to be likely to face those demons, those dark parts of yourself if you don't think that underneath all of those is more or less basically a good human, a good foundation at the very least. And that if you do believe that, you will be willing to slay those inner dragons and go into those caves that you fear to enter. And so I'm not saying that it's all good, man. I am saying that those behaviors or those actions or those choices, no matter how maladaptive they might be, that they were adaptive enough to get you here right now listening to this. and so in terms of just survival you have had an impulse that is good that has brought you to this place and that's pretty good man now do i think that you need to update some of those and get a software refresh and all that kind of stuff and and alter your environment as well yes i absolutely do.

14:28Now, I believe this because of my own experiences, but I don't expect you to take my word for it alone. So this isn't just an Andy J pizza thing of, I think it's better if you just think you're kind of a good thing. This was something that I experienced in my own life and kind of came to as a core worldview and belief. But as I started to explore it and research it and talk to people in the therapy and psychology world, I found out that this was a huge shift that happened in the therapy and psychology space sometime in the 90s with this guy named Martin Seligman, who is seen as the kind of godfather, grandfather person who introduced this paradigm shift in the psychology world where he's like, hey, maybe our Bible shouldn't be this book of disorders.

15:34Maybe we shouldn't start with what's wrong with you? What's broken with you? Maybe there might be some good if we start with Like, what are your strengths? What can we work with? What's great about being a human or being the type of human that you are? And the incredible thing is this shift into a positive psychology, which is not, by the way, positive thinking. You know, I think the positive thinking movement, it's not that there isn't any worthwhile data and whatnot over there. It's just not something that really speaks to me and or something I know much about. But I do know that this shift, this worldview shift from a negative self-psychology to a more positive self-psychology, like start with assuming that, you know, all of this bio hardware that we've ended up with has gotten us pretty far on this planet and must have something good for going for it.

16:32And let's try to work with that, that there is a lot of great evidence that this mindset is super effective in dealing with mental health stuff and dealing with personal growth and development. And so that shift was huge for me, but also I encourage you to go check out more about this one book that I could definitely recommend is, nope, there, No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz, who is the person who created Internal Family Systems, IFS. And I just think that book, even beyond the IFS stuff, introduces a totally different way of thinking about being a person, you know, starting with there are no bad parts of you.

17:19There are parts of you that maybe are not as well adjusted or are maladaptive to the environment you find yourself in that needs some work, but they're all trying to keep you alive for the most part. And so I think that's a great place to start. Another place you could look that is also based on this principle is this book, Good Inside. And it's by Dr. Becky Kennedy. Dr. Becky is known in the parenting world for gentle parenting and starting with this same principle of like your foundation is good. Let's start with there. Your kid's foundation is there, is good. And I don't think I have finished that book yet, but what I have read is just really great, not just for parenting, but also parenting yourself and how you see yourself.

18:14And it is a fundamental shift that I think addresses most of the complaints or pushback that you might have on this worldview. And I highly recommend you check it out. And here is the number one reason why I think this shift is so paramount for you as a creative person. If you believe that you are just bad at this game, you are likely to throw in the towel, rage quit before you realize that you have the creative potential to adapt the environment to you and that you are actually good and worthy enough to build a world around you that suits you, that allows you to thrive, that allows you to be in a place where you can contribute to others.

19:06And that that is the place where you're going to find the most that you have to give. And so if you can make this shift, this worldview to I'm not just bad at this game, but actually I need to change the game to work for me. That is how you unlock becoming a creative world builder. And we're going to talk about this over the next few weeks on a couple of different levels, because if you stop and think about it and you think about your creative heroes and you think of the people that you admire most that are able to be full and show up in the world, I think you're going to notice that those are people that have found the license to have the idiosyncrasies that they need to be full and regulated and creative in this world.

19:55And I think it starts with assuming that you are good and you are good at this game and you can get even better as you tailor it to the very real needs that you have.

20:24so you know in every episode we don't want to just leave you with some inspiration or some nice thoughts this episode is not going to just stop with just love yourself it's not that fluffy Although I do think it's even just that is a pretty huge fundamental shift when you practice it. So every episode, we want to leave you with something more than that, something you can do. It's our call to adventure. Our creative call to adventure today is turn on co-op mode. Now, I will explain to you what this means. This comes from a random video that I saw on the internet of this kid. and their mom, I don't know anything about these people.

21:11Maybe you do. It's called Beth and Coop. And it just comes to me out of context on my phone. And it's this little kid and they're in the backseat in the car seat working on this cross stitch. And they're talking about the movie Soul, the Pixar movie. And the mom says, you know, you have a real old soul, don't you? And the kid is like what's a soul and they're like it's something that lives inside you you know like the movie soul from pixar and um the kid says this thing that just shook me to my core and i'll just play it real quick but can you tell me what they need to live in there in case you missed it uh it's the kid asking, could you tell me what the soul needs to live in there?

22:03And I started thinking about what does it look like to have to be a body that is hospitable to a soul, to a self, to your essence. Now, woo woo mystic stuff aside, it doesn't really matter. It's a thought exercise, people okay i don't know what the truth is about souls and all that kind of stuff that's not what this podcast is but as a thought exercise it has been powerful to practice asking that question of you know recently um i found myself just kind of not making the best healthy decisions and kind of fell into some bad habits with my everyday routines and I was getting frustrated with it.

22:58And I kept trying to jumpstart different exercise things or new dietary things that could help me just kind of be a little bit healthier. And I just kept self-sabotaging and resisting. And I felt this energy that was very angry and negative about myself. And I just felt like, come on man what the hell like dude can you work with me let i need to do this it's it's good for us to do this and um and that video reminded me to start with foundationally i'm a good thing foundationally these impulses and these urges they're to survive they're for my good and instead it encouraged me to just temporarily take a different attitude towards myself.

23:51And instead of being like, come on, dude, get this crap together. I was like, Hey, what's going on? And I just did some journaling. And I started asking this self, like, what do you need to live in there better to be on my team, to go into co-op mode with me? Because I don't know about you, But for me, I get in my way all the time. And I've found that if I make this shift, I can actually accomplish more. It doesn't make everything fixed overnight, but it is powerful to be like, hey, what's going on? Why are you not having the resources, the energy to make these good decisions? And as I was journaling through that, I realized like, oh, it's because I haven't really fully cultivated that spark for life.

24:39I haven't found that thing in this season that makes me want to stick around for the long term you know wants me to be healthy enough to live to old age I haven't I don't currently have that spark and when I realized that when I did that little prompt I realized like oh okay that means I need to do everything I need to do to get in touch with that now that part of that is like yeah, my passion, my creativity, pulling those threads, making those, you know, connecting with people that are excited about what I'm excited about, making sure that I'm really going all in on that. Some of that is also being in touch with the world and doing my part to make the kind of world and build the kind of world that I want for myself and for my kids.

25:25So that goes beyond just the creative stuff. And when I start engaging with that and I start feeling like, hey, I'm going to fight to make the kind of world that I want to stick around in. I started feeling like I have a little bit more resource, a little bit more energy. I feel myself working with me to make better decisions. And so that's my encouragement to you today. It's a creative prompt to do a little bit of journaling, do a little bit of visual journaling, make a little song about, hey, what do you need? Can you tell me what you need in there that would make you a little bit comfier, a little bit more, a little bit less hostile to me, soul.

26:08How can I get you to be on my team? How can we work on this together? So if you make anything out of that creatively, send it to me on social media or email, whatever I'd love to see what you guys do with that prompt. But it's been really, really powerful for me in the recent weeks.

26:45All right. So I hope this helped you unlock your creative brain a little bit. This shift was huge for me and I detailed the process of that really explicitly and thoroughly and even shared a lot of personal private stuff, including a conversation with with my mom, who I kind of guessed I get ADHD from. It's mostly a genetic thing. Probably not my corporate accountant father. And I get in the details of that in this series I did, which was audio only. It was before we started doing videos, but it's episode 449 of this podcast, Creative Pep Talk. It's called Making Authentic Work You Love Starts With This.

27:27And it's the beginning of a six-part series called Right Side Out. If you want to dive deeper into where this shift came from of having this positive psychology, it starts there. And it was a really important, meaningful, creative project. And we released it last year and we won a couple of awards on it. We had just an incredible, we had some incredible feedback and really powerful feedback that made me really proud to have made it. And ultimately it's based on this idea that if you want to make work you love, you want to make art that you love, it starts with loving yourself because art is self-expression and you're not going to love that art and you're going to love that expression if you hate the thing that it is an expression of, which is you.

28:18And so that was a huge shift for me. it's one of my only beliefs actually, is that you foundationally are a good thing. We need to cultivate it. There's some work to be done, but starting with that mindset is a huge shift. And it reminds me of this thing I heard singer Michael Gunger say on a podcast once where he was talking about it again through the lens of video games. And he's like, if you start a video game and you believe that your character is there to do good, like most video games, you're going to go around for the most part doing good stuff. But then there are other games. I don't know.

28:55Grand Theft Auto comes to mind. I never played it, but it seems like in that game, you start off with the assumption that you're kind of bad. And so what are you going to do? You're going to go around doing bad stuff. So do I know if you're good or do I know if you're bad? I don't really know, but I do think that if you start with a foundation that you're on the bottom most deepest level good, I think it actually is going to serve you to the best possible outcomes. And so hope you check that series out. It's wherever audio podcasts are. Little heads up about the newsletter. We send a newsletter out every week with this podcast so you don't miss it.

29:40links to the audio, links to the video. If you're trying to build a creative practice, a huge part of that is showing up regularly. That's why we show up regularly making this show to show up with you as a companion and be like, Hey, I'm doing it. You should do it and remind you that you want to be doing this. And we have a few perks like our creative career path ebook that helps you build a side project that is strategic and will help you meet some of your goals in a strategic way and that e-booklet is free when you sign up to the newsletter but i just want to give you a heads up that in a few months we're going to take those perks off and start adding different kind of perks um and update some of that so it won't be available for free for much longer so go to annijpizza.substack.com sign up to the newsletter and um yeah you can get more info there.

30:36Thanks to Sophie Miller for being an editor and producer on this show. Thank you to Connor Jones of Pending Beautiful for audio edits, video edits, animation, sound design. Thank you to Yoni Wolf and the band Y for our theme music and soundtrack. And thanks to all of you for listening. Till we speak again, stay pepped up.

31:15Okay, the podcast is over, so I don't know why you're still listening, but I am glad that you enjoyed it enough to stick to the end. I have one more thing for you. If you're in a place where you're feeling a lack of clarity and you want to figure out your industry market and niche, and find the perfect strategic side project to do next, go sign up to our newsletter at andyjpizza.substack.com and you will get a confirmation email that will give you the download of our Creative Career Path hand booklet and the whole process is in there and you might also get a few bonuses in there depending on when you sign up.

31:58But again, thanks for listening. Glad you enjoyed the episode and stay pepped up, y 'all. Hello, this is Jack Wilson, the host of the History of Literature podcast. For the past 10 years, I've been talking to novelists, biographers, and scholars about the greatest books in the history of the world and the men and women who wrote them, like our recent episodes on Dante and Love, a starter pack of 10 Indian classics, the pop culture that influenced Sylvia Plath, and a talk with scientist and novelist Alan Lightman about the wonders of nature. Join us at the History of Literature podcast wherever you get your podcasts.