This is one of the refrains of THE RESISTANCE. This is the chorus of the internal chatter that seeks to quiet me, you, and us.
Personally, I find myself being judgmental when I see people pedalling “more of the same” that doesn’t seem well informed nor capable of advancing the conversation. Therefore, I fear producing the kind of work that might be deserving of a similar type of judgment that asserts my work to be unnecessary.
There are over 20 different meditation apps available on the market. I wonder if any of the creators of those apps ever thought to themselves “but, it’s been done before…” or some version of “what we want to make already exists; therefore, what’s the point…?”
This is obviously a very dangerous, self-destructive, and scarcity based train of thought; nonetheless, I do believe the fear points to a matter of importance, which are the questions of WHY and HOW.
When creating something from nothing and desiring to put another piece of content out in the world that you want people to interact with, there is a responsibility to deliberately consider your intent (WHY) and HOW you foresee people interacting with what you create for their benefit. I believe that this level of deliberation is also part of what separates creating and shipping your work as a PROFESSIONAL, as opposed to an amateur.
I also acknowledge that creativity is not always linear and sometimes the work just needs to be done before the WHY and HOW are thoroughly fleshed out. And, often, it is in doing the work that we clarify the intent and standards that give the work its unique point of view. The reason “the practice saves us from the poverty of our intentions” is because THE PRACTICE is the bridge between our intentions and our results. Intention is essential it just isn’t sufficient all by itself.
What hasn’t been done is your INTENTIONAL version… This is WHY cover versions of songs are sometimes better than the original.
