I was re-reading one of my favorite books lately, Visual Poetry by Chris Orwig, and this idea really stuck out to me.  I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.  What I do is less important than who I am, or said another way, who I am is more important than what I do.

I’m scared to death of failure.  I’m afraid to undertake projects because of the potential for failure.  This fear of failure has stopped me dead in my tracks, for 15 years now.  I’m afraid that I’ve let too many good years go by because of the fear of potential failure.  I’ve realized that this fear of failure comes from the idea that I’ve identified myself as what I do, not who I am.  Being able to separate these 2 things from each other has freed me.  I’ve only ever been as good as my last project.  I’ve identified myself by what I do.

Understanding this difference has let me concentrate on what inspires me.  That inspiration has led me to some new enlightenments, and even new projects.  These projects are a manifestation who I am, maybe if only for that moment in time, but they are not me.

We all have jobs to do, and that’s fine.  Not every job we do will be the most inspirational thing we’ve ever done, and that’s okay too.  But to define ourselves as what we do cheats us of inspiration, hope, and love.  Everything becomes about the final product instead of the journey, and we should enjoy the journey.