The Weird Lesson I Learned From Playing Basketball (about creativity)

I just had a strange experience that taught me a powerful lesson about creativity.

Yesterday I went to the gym to lift weights. I got there, saw how crowded it was, and decided to go shoot around on the basketball court instead.

I haven’t played a proper game of basketball in twenty years. The most I’ve done is played a game of HORSE with friends.

I had recently watched the NBA playoff series between my Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves (where we lost in game seven).

I’d seen a lot of pros shooting baskets, so I tried emulating their jumpshot form.

For whatever reason, all my shots were hitting. I even dropped back five feet from the three-point line and was still draining them. I don’t remember the last time I was shooting that hot.

There were about six other people on the courts, casually shooting around. At one point, I started to think:

Maybe I’m actually great at basketball.

Are these people in here seeing me hit all these shots?

What if they ask me to play a game?

I spun up a little story in my head — about the guy hitting shots at the gym.

Now I had to keep hitting the shots to keep being “the guy”.

As soon as that sequence occurred in my mind, I started bricking everything.

I dropped out of flow state and started giving attention to an identity I had created (the guy who can shoot).

As soon as that happened, my hot streak was over.

The timing was no coincidence. The introduction of an identity ruined it.

The funny part about this is that I’m not even good at basketball. But it’s irrelevant.

An NBA player can tell himself he’s bad.

A 40 year old white guy who writes and pretends to play basketball can tell himself he’s great.

It’s not about whether you tell yourself you’re bad or good. It’s that you tell anything at all.

This same exact thing happens to creators. You write a post and get crickets.

The thoughts pour in:

↪ Maybe I’m not good at this.

↪ No one liked my post.

↪ Was this any good?

↪ Am I credible?

Two weeks later, you write a post that goes viral.

The thoughts pour in:

↪ Everyone loves me!

↪ I’m famous on the internet.

↪ Oh crap, now I have to follow that up.

↪ What if my next post does terrible? People will say it was a fluke.

The more you make an identity for yourself based upon results, the more you actually impede the flow of true creativity.

True creativity comes from being in the present moment.

True creativity comes when you create without ego.

When you make it all about you (bad or good), you throw a wrench in the whole thing.

The #1 reason most creators don’t make it:

They make it all about themselves — instead of about serving their people.

Get out of your head. Create. It doesn’t matter how your content is reacted to. The world needs your art, pure and untainted.

That’s how you make the world a better place.

Create on -

Brian

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