I always wanted to be a rock star.
As far as creative dreams go, this is my oldest and purest.
In High School, my best friends and I had a band that played Weezer, Blink-182, and Metallica covers. Once I graduated, I started a hardcore band that wrote our own stuff and played shows around town.
Most shows we played were to small audiences of 30 people or so, the biggest had an audience of maybe 100.
We were about as far from famous as we could get, but that didn’t matter.
The feeling of creative expression that came from playing my guitar and singing my heart out in front an audience is the purest expression of myself I’ve yet to experience.
It’s been a long time since I’ve fully lived in that feeling.
The last live show I played was in 2009 and I gave up on making it as a musician a few years later.
But while I’ve long since given up on that dream, I recently realized, that all the work I’ve done since then (and maybe all the work I’ll ever do) has been chasing that feeling of standing on stage with my guitar around my neck.
I don’t think I’m the only one driven by this type of experience.
I think we all have some feeling we’re chasing that informs the work we do. This feeling, I think, is what we imagine to be the most fully realized version of ourselves. Our potential fulfilled.
I call this feeling your Creative Compass.
The feeling that guides our Creative Compass is different for each of us.
For you, it might be the feeling of catching the perfect wave while surfing, watching your guests take the first bite of the meal you’ve spent hours preparing, or the subtle joy of watching the first shoots poke above the topsoil of your garden.
It might be a feeling you’ve previously lived and embodied or an imagined amplification of a past experience.
Whichever feeling it is that has a hold on us, we don’t choose it.
It’s something deeper than conscious choice, more intimately woven into our body, mind, and soul. Our past, present, and future. Though we likely aren’t aware of it, our work and our lives are driven in search of attaining (or reattaining) this feeling. And that’s not a bad thing.
Work that taps into this feeling is tapping into the purest and truest part of ourselves, resulting in the work that is most uniquely ours.
The work that no one else can replicate.
When we are aware of this feeling, then, we can follow the compass needle and intentionally lean into it.
This allows us to bring the purest version of ourselves to everything we do, regardless of medium, topic, or niche. It creates a through-line that ties together a distinct body of work.
Of course, to follow this feeling, however, we first have to identify it.
How To Find The Feeling Behind Your Creative Compass
I first became aware of the feeling guiding my Creative Compass while listening to music.
Not just any music, however.
Specifically, the feeling arises while listening to the songs that resonate most deeply with the core of my being. The songs where I feel the kick drum in my chest rather than hear it. Where it’s all I can do to simply sing under my breath instead of screaming along til my lungs hurt.
When I’m listening to these songs, it doesn’t take much to imagine that I wrote them. That it’s me standing on a stage sharing this purest expression of myself.
Music is one of the best ways to tap into your Compass.
Think about the songs that make you most come alive. What’s the feeling associated with them? Where in your life do they take you back to? What forgotten dreams do they evoke?
While music has a special power to evoke memory and cut through to our souls, it’s not the only way to get to the core feeling that pulls at you.
Think back to the dreams you had from your youth and the feelings associated with them. Think back to the people, places, and experiences that have made you feel most alive.
The most you.
Sift through your past to find the feeling that strikes the bell at the center of your soul.
Remember that the purest form of this feeling might not live solely in your past, but be an imagined amplification of that feeling, a mix of what has been and been lost, and what could be.
Identifying the feeling is a necessary and important first step. But to use it to create the work that only we can create, we need to find a way to tap into it on command.
Follow Your Compass To Your Best Work
In order to follow your Creative Compass, you first need to get a clear reading on the direction it’s pointing.
This means tapping into and embodying the feeling that guides the needle.
Seeing as my Compass needle is so tied to music, it’s no surprise that the best way I’ve found to tap into it has been to create a playlist of all the songs that bring it to life.
Music is one of the best methods of evoking memories and uncovering forgotten feelings.
If you have a strong emotional connection to music, creating a similar playlist that helps you embody the feeling you’re chasing is a great place to start. But it’s not the only option.
Another option is to create a short visualization exercise that helps you embody the feeling you want to carry into your creating.
A therapist friend of mine once walked me through a visualization exercise like this.
She instructed me to visualize a feeling I wanted to capture and then imagine myself putting it into a bottle and then corking it to carry with me.
Years later, I still think back to this visualization every so often. As soon as I think of uncorking that bottle, the feeling floods my body. Visualization can be a powerful tool.
Other options include creating a vision board, hanging art or photos, using candles or scented oils. Anything that helps remind you of the direction of your Compass and gets you to that feeling of the purest expression of yourself.
The easier you’re able to tap into and embody this feeling, the more easily it will flow into your work.
Since discovering this phenomenon and leaning into it, I’ve felt a surge of clarity and purpose. I can rely on the Compass pointing me in the right direction when I feel lost.
I’m more confident in the work I’m creating and am certain that if I’m able to keep following the needle and chasing this feeling it will lead to the work that only I can create, removing all worry of competition.
This Creative Compass exists for you as well, although it points in another direction.
It takes some reflection, some quiet, and some courage. But finding your direction and following it is the surest way of tapping into your best and purest work.
Explore how to navigate a creative life that matters
This article originally appeared in my weekly Creative Wayfinding Newsletter. Each issue is the product of a week of work, and contains something not available for sale.
A fresh perspective, a shot of encouragement when you need it most, and maybe even some genuine wisdom from time to time.
Each week, we explore a different facet of the question “How do we navigate the wilds of creating work that matters?”
It’s something I’m proud to create and I’d be honoured to share it with you.
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