Fam Jam — I am coming to you in a state of being fully BLOWN. AWAY.
If you remember reading, The Trophy Doesn't Prove It, I realized that I was wrapping my self-worth up in accomplishments, achievements and the approval of others. It wasn't something that was constantly happening - due to years of internal work - but it was still happening too often for my good…
Lately, I've been unpacking some of my desires, beliefs and thoughts. I feel like I'm being blocked and held back from taking more of the actions I want to take, but I also feel that it's from my own making...so I started journaling about it to try and identify what beliefs or lack of beliefs were and are holding me back...
“Design is a full time job
It is the way you look at politics, funny papers, listen to music, raise children...”
So, what do you do?
I'm a designer.
So....
Design is hard to define. It's life. It's all encompassing. It's everywhere you look. It's decisions AND it's feelings. I've wrestled with the notion of picking my 'thing' for the majority of my life. I felt pressured and constricted to just pick ONE.
Why? Why just one?
This world is so jam-packed with beautiful places, people, things, experiences, why would I or better yet, why should I have to limit myself to one? In a world where mastery is highly praised [as it should be,] being a jack-of-all trades is often ridiculed and diminished.
So, when you're a designer [and a dabbler,] it's difficult to narrow down what it is you actually do. One day it could be architecture, the next a lamp, the next a wedding, the next an ad campaign, the next an art exhibition, etc.
To me, it's all the same. It's about the process, the intent and the expression. What are you creating and for whom? The tools are the same, but the canvas is different. I know I'm vastly over-simplifying it. It's important to have a focus, but that certainly doesn't mean you have to have the same focus for the rest of your life. Architecture was my focus for 24 years, the last two years have been a re-shifting of that focus, and now I'm focusing on Graphics and Events, or rather Identity and Experience design.
I couldn't be more excited and would encourage anyone to go towards what lights them up. It's scary at first - you feel like you can't change now, because that would mean you've wasted so much time. That couldn't be further from the truth. Nothing is wasted. Your past and your experiences have all culminated in making you who you are today. It's never too late to make a change!
So. What do I do?
I design.
Yesterday it was a building. Today it was a logo.
Ask me again tomorrow.
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