018 Play and Pressure

We wrestle with the moment art stops feeling like play and starts feeling like pressure, then trace how that shift shows up as guilt, perfectionism, and constant productivity. I also share concrete ways to protect your joy while still taking your craft seriously. 

• remembering how playful creation starts and why it changes over time 
• facing our own harsh inner critic and the gap between taste and skill 
• noticing when goals turn into identity and steal the present moment 
• creating “me time” art alongside audience-facing work 
• breaking routines to invite experimentation over optimization 
• choosing authenticity over trends and building community over algorithms 

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Play And Art Under Pressure

Richmond 0:02

When was the last time you brought play into your art? Do the words play and art even belong in one sentence nowadays? It's curious to think that the art we make to show others the colorful spectrum of life is created out of pressure. It's a tricky balance, don't you think? So sit back, grab your favorite brew, and let's answer these questions. Hi, you're listening to Pockets, a podcast about finding joy, meaning, and purpose in life's simplest moments. I'm Richmond Camero. Let's dive into today's journey.

From Teen Stories To Productivity

Richmond 0:52

I used to write about knights, princesses and dragons when I was a teenager. There was also another story, a crossover of Naruto and The Last Airbender, where I explore elemental magic systems with the idea of three-person group of ninjas. I also clearly remember how I wrote these on paper first. Who cares about publicity and publication back then when it's just so fun? Then I started to get serious about my art. I've grown and learned a lot of things, but my perspective also changed. My art can't just be for fun anymore. It had to be for something, for publication, for content, for other people's eyes. Yes, I still love to write and create art, but deep inside there's also the feeling that my time should be spent doing something productive. I can't just play around right now. My efforts should be towards something tangible for my art to grow. If this struck a chord, know that I'm with you. I think as creatives, we feel this in different times and intensities in our journey. When we were starting out, it was the voice that says that what we put in our page is not good enough. After we've been through several of our creations, it's the voice that says the next one would be not good as the one that we've created. The feeling of pressure is there and we all feel that. And I hope you find solace in the knowledge that you're not alone in this. And I also feel that the shift from pure play to pressure is a sign of maturity for ourselves and for our art. The right amount of pressure also helps as a good source of motivation. The key is finding the balance for us to benefit from that and at the same time to thrive in a world of play. So let's try to understand where the pressure may come from.

Where Creative Pressure Comes From

Richmond 3:05

To start with, the first one is the expectations of our supporters. Art is a two-way street. We create for others to consume. As we create more and gain more fans, there's an invisible contract that we have to fulfill. The need for regular releases, the feeling that the next thing we're putting out should be better than the last one, and the pressure to create something new to attract both new and regular consumers. With this in mind, we struggle with the balance of creating something we really want, or following up with what our supporters expect from us. I'm sure it's a continuous battle in our minds to find the balance between these. It's not just about creating out of our hearts' desire if someone from the other side is waiting for our art. The second source of pressure that the L cite is closer than you might think. Ourselves and the way we are critical of our own work. Can I say that this might be our curse as artists? Our inclination to do art makes us more aware of how human nature works. That's where we get our inspiration from, the intricacies and complexity of life. At the same time, because of that awareness, we become more drawn to our own gaps and flaws. We know what we want to do, and we also know the gap that we need to cross to get there. It's our curse. So that also adds up to the pressure that we feel. The idea of building that bridge to enable us to build our best work. The third factor that adds pressure that I could think of might be our own goals and how we shape our identity around it. Let's use a simple example for me to illustrate this. Imagine you don't know how to ride a bike and you want to learn how to. After a few trials, you were finally able to ride a bicycle with ease. But then you thought, why stop there? You want to be the best person that can ride a bicycle. Of course, this is an exaggeration, but if you relate this with our different goals, our work, our art, our roles, it's easy to see how we can get too absorbed with something that it becomes our identity. It's not wrong to chase our goals with passion. However, what's dangerous is when our time and energy become slaves to that goal. For instance, we might say that an artist must always create a new work. Or we might say that a creative must be focused always and must not try trivial things. It's dangerous to transform ourselves into the ideal that we want to become. Because of this mindset, we'll forget how to live in the moment, to embrace the journey, which invites the idea of play. If you could relate to this and now feeling guilty or troubled, then good job. Acknowledgement is half of the work. That's okay. For sure there's a point in our creative lives that we have to punch it and keep our feet on the gas. There's a season where we have to work through the pressure to achieve our goals, so that's okay. Now that we acknowledge that, we can also acknowledge that there is always room for play, no matter how hard our work are, or how much expectations we have to meet.

Create For Yourself First

Richmond 6:48

To start shifting from pressure to play, we start with ourselves, by cultivating our own creation me time. As we go on our creative journey, what we create might be heavily dictated by the wants of our supporters. In order to invite play, we have to have time to create for the number one fan, ourselves. It's very easy to go down a spiral thinking about making the most out of our time, doing something productive for our creative business, which is what makes creating for yourself to be more important, frankly. To do this, I often classify my creation as work meant for other people to see, and work meant for play and experimentation. In writing, one might be towards a book that I'm working to publish, and the other are world building, tiny stories that I want to give life to, but are not for publishing it. In art, one might be a finished painting, and the other just might be fountain pen scribbles if I want to loosen up. It's about compartmentalization and understanding what purpose the art is serving.

Break Routines And Stay True

Richmond 8:02

My second suggestion to invite play is to break our routines. I often try to write in the morning before I start my job, and I was convinced that I'm more productive in the morning. On some days, I sometimes write during the night, either because I was busy that morning or I didn't feel ready to do art. Lo and behold, when I look at my writing data, I found out that I'm more productive during the evening. Coincidentally, I'm writing the draft for this episode during the night. I have to emphasize, it's not about productivity. It's about the discovery of something different. You might be used to how we do things that we don't have space to entertain the unexpected. As simple as using a different medium, going to a different place to create our art, or just simply changing the schedule. It invites us to change our perspective and experiment. Lastly, this might be the simplest idea, but the most difficult one to uphold. The understanding that the purest art that we could create comes from being ourselves. This is the most difficult because we are trained to serve the needs of our audience. It's difficult because answering to our own whims, likes, and fantasies feels selfish. But I also believe that in order to fulfill the expectations of our audience, we have to fulfill our own expectations first. I write stories that I want to read. I create art that I want to consume. Yes, there are market demands and trends. But are we artists chasing the algorithm? Or are we artists that cultivate a community where creativity can thrive on? Being true to what we want removes the hold of others. And that's where we realize that our ideas are more than enough. That trying things differently shows us a different view of our art, that it is okay to play. Being serious with our craft doesn't mean there's no space for play. I invite you to rekindle your childlike awe, to make art as if nothing matters. From there, I hope you'll find inspiration to bring a little whimsy into your creative life. I hope your next creation will help you express the wonder that you always dreamed of. You've been with Pockets. Thank you so much for sharing this space with me. Now go embrace the moments, build your pockets of meaning, and keep curiosity a s your guide.