Playing
It Safe
by Lynn Cutts
Do you play
it safe with your creativity, be it expressed through dancing, music,
writing, painting, acting . . . ? Do you find yourself working with
the same old, comfortable people, places, and situations? Where
do you hold back, or fear to tread at all? The truth is, we all
play it safe, in our art, our work, and our lives. We've been taught
to do so from birth, as our parents first protected us from danger,
and then schools, society, and various government agencies took
over. Now it's become a deeply ingrained, limiting habit.
Perhaps you
play it safe with the kind of things you create, sticking to one
topic, outlet or style. Maybe you avoid uncomfortable issues in
your work, situations that get just a little too real, or a character
that's little too like you. Or you have this fantastic idea that
you're waiting to do because "You're just not good enough yet."
Maybe you limit yourself to local venues, or don't charge enough
for your work. Or perhaps, you couldn't bring yourself to call that
agent, that potential backer, that gallery, and pitch your work.
Wherever you
play it safe in your creativity is also where you play it safe in
life. Can't make your characters get confrontational? Well then,
ask yourself, how well do you handle confrontation? Follow all the
rules in your painting? Where else do you blindly toe the line?
Can't send that demo tape into the radio station? Where else do
you lack confidence?
There's nothing
intrinsically wrong in playing it safe. We all do it in order to
survive–or so we've been taught–but as we move through
life, we outgrow our safety nets, just as we've outgrown our playpens
and car seats. Some of us consistently choose the known over the
unknown, the small but sure return over the risky investment. Others
play it safe by avoiding the chance of rejection, exposure, or disappointment.
Sometimes we play it safe in one area of our lives so we can waltz
on the precipice's edge in another. But playing it safe is really
taking the biggest risk of all: the risk that we will never learn
or grow in that particular area. And those are the areas where life's
most precious and important lessons await.
So what would
happen if you stopped playing it safe, just for a little while?
How would your creativity blossom and grow? In our art, at least,
we can explore with safety. We can stretch ourselves beyond what
we thought we could do. These are just paint smears on canvas, or
electrons on a screen, or a series of moves set to music. We can
paint over it or delete the file or change the steps if we get too
scared.
I challenge
you to use your art, your creativity, whatever your outlet, to deepen
your knowledge of yourself. This next month, start noticing where
you play it safe in your art. Notice where you back off, instead
of pushing forward, where you tip toe timidly instead of striding
forth boldly. Notice what you approach with caution, instead of
with curiosity and adventure.
Then throw that
caution to the winds, and take that risk! See how much richer your
art becomes.
And – your
life.
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