Life in the arts, Ah yes…a fantastic journey filled with great moments and a life of self-exploration! But also Self-doubt and a Life filled with financial insecurity.
Nowadays the brave young people that take this adventurous journey have new and even more treacherous paths to overcome. Routes that might mislead them into focusing on the “external” instead of the “internal.”
I see young artists filled with what Alain De Botton called “status anxiety.” Their heads are saturated with a particular type of “how” questions :
“how will I make it?”
“how can I get recognized” and quickly!
Life is so fast-paced indeed, so “viral,” that these “how’s” hung above their heads like guillotines demanding a deadline:
“I must make it now.”
There is a delusion that social platforms cultivate, an untold lie that there is a “recipe” for making it.
A promise of a social media “shortcut”
And This shortcut is taking focus from “how to really do the work” and redirects it to “how to advertise yourself” early on.
The best way to redirect your focus on what really matters is to know what you can actually control! And the only way to learn that is through practical philosophy
Epicurus said that unless philosophy can actually help the human condition — practically — it has no real use to us
Let’s take a look at what the Stoics said and specifically Epictetus :
There are things in our power, in our control (thoughts, feelings, and Goals) and things not in our power ( e.x the sun rising, fate and becoming viral ) this is a classic dichotomy.
…But according to W.Irvine, we can actually make it a trichotomy, thus :
“
“Things in our power” (thoughts — feelings- goals ) “Things not in our power” (the sun rising, making it, people liking us, fate ) and…
“Things somewhat in our power but not entirely.”
For the sake of this argument, let us pretend you are a musician (if you are, just stop pretending)
like every musician dedicated to your craft, you can practice all year round in the best manner that you can, and with the best teachers you can find, and that is something you can actually control (in your power).
You can perform, or you can at least try to play your best the night of the recital (somewhat in your power if you consider the variables ).
But the end result of that performance (are people going to like how you played? or is this recital going to move your career forward? or if the freaking Instagram post you just uploaded going to get many heart-shaped approvals ) let’s be honest is not in your power.
So Where do all the stress and fear come from when things are so simple?
If your goals are external let’s say to “make it” or for people to “love you” or “for your career to move forward” ( something with too many variables to control) or for the Instagram crowd to find you (even more variables )then stress and fear are pretty much on your lap!
But if you change the goal and you set it to internal (a term coined by Mr Irvine), that includes practising as hard as you can and trying to perform the best that you can — things you actually can control or at least somewhat can control — then stress and fear have no place near you.
…I know, I know it sounds unrealistic in a way. Should we not be people of our time and use new technology and platforms? It is as if I am implying that people should stop wanting gratification ( making it, achieving stardom ) or be acknowledged for what they do or for who they are. They’ve worked so hard for it, No? And it would be a fair assumption that since they have worked so hard they “must” also “make it,” right?
Um… I am afraid it a big …No! Unfortunately, that is just the myth or meritocracy calling you.
Albert Ellis a massive fan of philosophy used to say stress came from too many “must’s” or what he called: “must-urbation.”
Mr William B. Irvine and apparently Albert Ellis are not suggesting giving up on your dreams, they are urging us to try and make them sound more like dreams and not like freaking stressful deadlines. Stop spending more time on the net than you do on your craft!
Change your focus, from external to internal goals, because that is a less stressful way to enjoy your life’s journey.
Let’s be honest the things out of our control will never ever yield, whatever we do (unless you want to buy fake Instagram friends, I hear that is a thing now ).
So just set your “goal” clock to internal, and sometimes the external might come your way!
keep up the “work.”
love and peace
KF
