Nobody hates waiting. Even people Who would probably consider themselves patient, hate waiting. The difference is that patient people understand the importance in waiting for things that matter. I think with social media being such a big part of our lives that it can be really misleading to see people and their work and how many followers they have and think that it must have been easy. You just put your work up and voilà! Success, right?
It’s easy to think the grass is greener and quickly think they might have the “trick”. Besides the fact that copying someone else just to get brief success is being a sellout designer, it’s just not the way to find true success for yourself. The kind of success you want.
This week’s song is by indietronica band, Kye Kye. Their song “hiding place” alludes to the sweetness there is in waiting. This is one thing that I have been thinking a lot about lately. I’ve been “showing up every day” like Sean Wes says to do and I find myself already feeling impatient that I’m not seeing a lot of results. But I think there is a lot of clarity that can come in waiting, having faith that doors will open eventually.
I’m trying to find joy in waiting.
Kye Kye, in their song “hiding place” writes, “flawless faith a gentle hope words that build beautiful walls That have open doors, give it time- give it time”.
Being patient and consistent and not giving up will yield some amazing benefits. You just have to give it time. Waiting can teach you to focus on the goal, on the things that you are waiting and hoping for, if you let it. It can be a time to relax and enjoy the journey. If you choose to stop and give purpose to the time you are waiting for “success”. Whether success for you is getting more clients, or more followers, or getting your own gallery, give your time purpose.
Use your time waiting to practice your craft, do some personal projects, make connections with other creatives who are also in the waiting room of success and enjoy yourself.
The Kye Kye lyrics that stood out to me the most this week were, “patience sits on my lips all of this waiting to grow focused eyes , use my time perfectly falling in line / this is how it starts inside it seeps through / THIS WAY THIS WAY THIS WAY it will last this way this way this way it will last” I took these lyrics to mean that if we choose to focus and use our time and just enjoy ourselves doing what we do, that better work and will “seep through”; it will come out of you naturally and you won’t care so much about success because you will be fulfilled by your work. Then if you can do this consistently, you will be ready for success when it eventually comes.
You can choose to find joy and a kind of peace in the potential that lies In wait in every day of waiting.
Any artist, whether it be a photographer, fine artist, or graphic designer knows that creating takes patience. But I think it is a much more difficult endeavor for a creative to understand that they need patience to get to a place of success. We work hard at what we do and we spend a lot of time doing it. So it can be frustrating when the world or even the people around us don’t take notice of what we do or appreciate it. It’s hard to wait for the success of our work. But it will be worth it to not take the quick or easy route to get there.
Patience isn’t just a virtue, it is a skill that must be practiced consciously and often.
Take advantage of the time you spend waiting for success. Success takes patience but don’t let it take your joy from you when you create. Design is a wonderful world, I hope you’ll join me here. Because design matters.