Twyla Tharp’s creative secret
Twyla Tharp, world-famous choreographer, in her book The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it For Life shares an important ingredient of her method in the following words:
I begin each day of my life with a ritual… First steps are hard… It’s vital to establish some rituals-automatic but decisive patterns of behavior- at the beginning of the creative process, when you are most at peril of turning back, chickening out, giving up, or going the wrong way…”
Getting started is often the hardest part of doing something. Each of us needs to find an intuitive way to overcome the natural human tendency towards inertia. For dancers, the ritual of morning class is the automatic beginning to each and every day. But any creative endeavor requires first steps.
When something is new, it is full of unknowns. Embarking into unchartered territory is uncomfortable; we are literally making it all up as we go along. Step by step, moment by moment, we are feeling our way. But Tharp offers us a little clue for how to get going.
How much easier it is to begin with something familiar first. We get up, we do that first familiar thing, and we are already moving, already on the go. From there, it’s simply a matter of continuing to move forward. Whether your morning ritual is a cup of coffee, a run in the park, or chanting naked, embrace it. Use it in your favor. Get up, get going. Whatever your ritual is, it’s your next step forward.
Twyla Tharp’s book is a must-have for any creative person. Click here to read about it:
