A good friend recently hit me with this one-liner: follow the goosebumps.

There are so many layers of meaning nestled within that phrase that I could probably write an entire book on it, but here are a few reflections about this idea and how I think it can impact our work as creators.

“Following the goosebumps” can be taken to mean a few different things:

1. Be conscious of what amazes and inspires you, and make deliberate efforts to gravitate toward those things. Learn where you draw your energy from. Music gives me an incredible high. It keeps me motivated and makes me want to create things that bring the same feeling to others. For you it might be diving into another form of art, or watching a professional athlete do what they do best. Whatever it is—make a conscious effort to expose yourself to it more often. Remember, wanting to achieve something is the first step toward achieving it.
2. Don’t be afraid to get scared. Was there ever a time when when someone pushed you off the metaphorical deep-end, and after struggling a bit initially, you figured out how to swim? It’s hard—if not impossible—to learn in the absence of discomfort. Happiness and fear are more similar than you might think. Confusion is painful, but it’s a powerful prerequisite for growth.
3. Trust your gut. Goosebumps are a reflex over which we have no conscious control, but that gut emotional/physical reaction serves as a helpful guide for recognizing the circumstances that lead to success. If your gut tells you to jump in—think about what’s keeping you from taking the plunge and try to put it in perspective. You might find that there’s less actually in the way than you initially think. The reverse is also true—if your spidey senses are telling you to avoid something (or someone), then you’re probably better off staying away.

I’ve been guilty on a few occasions (okay, on many occasions) of sliding into complacency, both personally and professionally. But this past year, due to a variety of strange occurrences as well as a large scale public health emergency, complacency has been nearly impossible.

The past six months in particular have been very cutthroat across the business world as the uncertainty of COVID-19 has led companies to tighten their pursestrings. Amidst all the widespread stress, it may seem a bit strange that the past year has also yielded some of the best creative output of my life.

I’ve rekindled the discipline to spend at least an hour per day learning or creating something. Those hours add up, and the result has been more than enough to keep me motivated:

• I have a new website that showcases what I do and serves as a platform for the things I want to share with the world.
• I've discovered a new airy melodic style that jives well with the kind of songs that I want to keep creating, and I've leveraged it to produce some songs that I'm really proud of (with more to come).
• I knocked off a variety of professional achievements and shipped numerous successful high-profile projects that furthered my personal mission of creating world class, innovative digital products.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with a variety of stellar teams along the way, and as I take a step back to think a bit about the frenzy, I recently got to wondering—what is it about this cutthroat, hyper-competitive, & stressful world situation that pushes people to generate such great creative output?

There’s been quite a bit of research done on this topic (see Creativity and Suffering: How Creating Things Can Channel Your Pain), but I think perhaps the most important aspect is this: when the world around us is full of meaningless suffering, it forces us—as resilient humans—to dig deeper and find meaning on our own. In other words—when life lacks goosebumps, we look for ways to create them.

Perhaps we shouldn’t wait until things hit rock bottom to begin looking for those goosebumps. Perhaps we should always—in good times and bad—follow the goosebumps. I think we’d be better off for it.