I've been watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix (So far, a really good show). The theme song, You've Got Time, by Regina Spektor, has a line that jumped out at me: "taking steps is easy, standing still is hard."
For the last few years I've been operating under the credo "keep moving forward." For all intents and purposes, this is a wonderful way to lead your life. It keeps you focused on goals and always working towards something. As a creative, it's really easy to get wrapped up in this.
It's also really easy to lose perspective. You get so consumed by creating work and meeting deadlines that you forget about the very thing that allows you to produce your work: imagination. In order to produce good work, your imagination needs to be fed and well cared for. It needs to be stimulated. By cranking out ads, re-sizes and meeting every deadline that's thrown at you, you forget all about what it takes to be creative. You stifle your imagination and become complacent.
It is easy to take steps. To move forward. But, it can become mindless and automated. Being still is "unproductive." Too quiet. Uncomfortable. Yet, being still should be a step you take often in your journey onward and upward. It allows you to regain perspective, gather your thoughts and obtain some clarity. It allows you to care for your greatest asset -- your self.
Orange is the new black. And I propose that standing still is the new moving forward.
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