Elizabeth Gilbert's Words of Wisdom
It isn’t cool to admit fear has molded and shaped your life. Everyone wants to give off an air of ease in life. At least that is what I was trying to do at my most frantic and fear filled time of life. Elizabeth Gilbert deep dives into fear in Big Magic and every interview or conversation I’ve heard with her. I didn’t realize someone who comes off as confident and successful would have such an intimate relationship with fear. But everyone feels fear.
The first time I heard Elizabeth Gilbert was from the podcast The Moth. She was telling the story of being with the love of her life during her final days and hours. When I heard this description I was prepared for doom, gloom and depressing stuff. It turned out to be very enlightening and beautiful in an unexpected way. I hadn’t read any of her books yet but decided after hearing that story she must be a good storyteller ergo her books might be worth reading. I read Big Magic and it’s great inspiration for the creatively inclined who might have stopped pursuing these inclinations.
Not to play favorites but her interview with Dax Shepard for Armchair Expert is one of my favorites because they don’t shy away from the deep stuff but can also talk about more light hearted fare.
Some of the juiciest nuggets for people who want quick hits. The inclusion of fear in her creative life instead of exiling it. Perfectionism is fear dressed up in a mink coat and pearls. We believe perfectionism is productive. The fear to start. The fear of something new. Fear doesn’t want you to start or do anything new because it might kill you. Why does writing a poem feel like it might kill you? The fear does it. Being alive might kill you so why not work on a project that will make you feel alive. Do the work and find the rewards in the work. These rewards will sustain unlike selling a certain amount of copies or other extrinsic rewards.
If you are even slightly creatively or artistically inclined read Big Magic and thank me later. It breaks down the reasons and barriers we put up to deny ourselves creative expression. It is also inspiring without being sappy, fake or preachy which is hard to produce in the self help adjacent genre.
