Be the architect of your own experience
I’ll start today with a confession. I love art in all its forms, but I didn’t know this about myself until recently. Growing up in a rural community with parents in medical and business professions, I’d never visited an art museum. My dad’s hunting trophies were the decor that graced the walls of our home.
Now I’m making up for lost time. On my days off, I go to museums and galleries. On vacation, I always find an art museum. I dream of hanging works by local artists in our home (for now I’ll have to be content with framed posters that I buy in the museum stores). So I was intrigued when I saw the title of this week’s read, Steal Like an Artist.
This book reads like the book of Proverbs. It’s full of nuggets of wisdom, sometimes quite quotable, but we’re not really going to build a whole theology around it.
For example…
“Garbage in, garbage out.”[1] In other words, surround yourself with the right inspiration.
“Fake it ’til you make it.”[2] Just keep showing up and putting in the work. Isn’t this what Jason told us on our Zoom call last week? Hindsight will reveal how far you’ve come.
It seems this snippets-of-wisdom style is intentional on the author’s part. Toward the conclusion of the book, Kleon says, “Some advice can be a vice. Feel free to take what you can use, and leave the rest. There are no rules.”[3]
As we know from previous readings like Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow and Kathryn Schulz’s Being Wrong, our brains are meaning-making machines. Our brains are always jumping to conclusions because they are designed to make sense out of whatever input they receive. Robert Pepperell calls it “the sense of compulsion I felt to make sense of what was in front of me.”[4] He is referring to his research at the intersection of art and neurobiology, examining how the brain makes sense of a more-or-less abstract image. This “visual indeterminacy” as he calls it, “is by no means a straightforwardly pleasurable experience; it can sometimes be quite frustrating or disorienting, and not immediately rewarding.”[5]
So that brings me to making sense of Kleon’s snippets of advice. Like most of you, my vocation is not particularly artistic in nature. My NPO has little to do with artistic expression, so what can I learn from Kleon? In many ways, he is showing readers how to be the architects of their own experience in order to produce their best work. As I look to the future, especially if I hope to create a ministry to parents unlike anything that already exists, the issue of validation is likely to be important. Kleon says, “You can’t go looking for validation from external sources. Once you put your work into the world, you have no control over the way people will react to it.”[6] That sounds to me like another way to describe self-differentiation. Kleon continues, “Not everybody will get it. People will misinterpret you and what you do. They might even call you names. So get comfortable with being misunderstood, disparaged, or ignored—the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care.”[7] This is actually something that I had to deal with last semester. As I began talking to potential stakeholders, I had one couple decline to participate in my Discovery Workshop. While they would never say it, I strongly suspect it was because they disagree with some of my underlying ideology. At first I was upset because I was trying to affect change as broadly as possible. But through my one-on-one interviews, I realized that it will be more impactful to offer a new approach to those who are ready and hungry for change instead of spending all my energy trying to persuade those who are not ready. And so, exactly as Kleon said, I’m too busy doing my work, investing in those parents who are receptive, to worry too much about my critics.
The other area that I want to highlight is Practicing Productive Procrastination.[8] I do a lot of procrastination, and not all of it is productive. But I do agree with Kleon that sometimes we just need to get bored for inspiration (or motivation or the perfect solution to a problem) to strike. That’s why, despite the extra workload of a doctoral program, I’m trying very hard to pursue new friendships and hobbies in this season. This is another small way that I can be the architect of my own experience and in the end produce the best results.
In the end, I think we can all hold onto the main idea of Steal Like and Artist. “The manifesto is this: Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use—do the work you want to see done.”[9]
But before I hit that “post” button, here is my honest question for you: Does Kleon’s advice speak more to System 1 or System 2 thinking? I could almost see arguments for either/or, so I’m curious to know what my cohort thinks.
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[1] Kleon, Austin. Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things No One Told You About Being Creative. Workman Publishing Company; New York. 2012. 21.
[2] Ibid. 35.
[3] Ibid. 117.
[4] Pepperell, Robert. “Connecting Art and the Brain: An Artist’s Perspective on Visual Indeterminacy.” *Frontiers in Human Neuroscience* (Aug 17, 2011). doi:https://doi-org.georgefox.idm.oclc.org/10.3389/fnhum.2011.00084. https://georgefox.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.georgefox.idm.oclc.org/scholarly-journals/connecting-art-brain-artists-perspective-on/docview/2293168479/se-2.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Kleon, Austin. Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things No One Told You About Being Creative. Workman Publishing Company; New York. 2012. 93.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid. 57.
[9] Ibid. 46.
About the Author
Kim Sanford
9 responses to “Be the architect of your own experience”
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Great connection, “This book reads like the book of Proverbs. It’s full of nuggets of wisdom, sometimes quite quotable, but we’re not really going to build a whole theology around it.” you are right. I found this book refreshing and easy to read.
I think that it speaks more to System 2 thinking. The principles that he suggests are in no way automatic responses for me. They require me to think and explore/design an effortful response.
I can’t hit “post” without disclosing that I have mastered the art of productive procrastination. I can finish 6 other things well and still not complete the most pressing task. It’s a blessing and a curse!
Kim, I agree that an argument could be made for both Systems 1 AND 2 in Kleon’s snippets of advice, but in my opinion, I think his advice probably appeals more to System 1. I say that because he isn’t really looking for feedback from System 2 ways of thinking. With his straightforward proverbial (loved your reference to Kleon’s book reading like the Book of Proverbs!) way of writing this book, he isn’t really inviting slower thinking to correct whatever “errors” or biases someone might make with System 1.
I wonder what your ministry / NPO interests might produce five years from now. Like, if you did “the work that you want to see done,” to steal a quote from Kleon that you included in your post, and your new ministry was flourishing, in 2028, what would it look like?
That’s an easy question to answer, because it’s what I’ve been dreaming about when I’m supposed to be writing my Topic Expertise Essay. I would love to see a small ministry of maybe 3-5 like-minded Christians who can resource parents and pastors in our city. That would likely include a range of courses or workshops on topics like emotional discipleship along the lines of Peter Scazzero, emotion coaching building off of John Gottman’s work, the child’s developing brain, and I have loads more ideas. Finally, I would like it to be a project that serves both Christians and non-Christians. Obviously, the non-Christians would not be so interested in the discipleship piece, but I want the work to be solid enough and research-based that it can also be applied to parents outside of the church. I’ll get back to you in 5 years and let you know if any of that is happening.
Kim,
I connected with your thoughts and Kleon’s quote, “You can’t go looking for validation from external sources. Once you put your work into the world, you have no control over the way people will react to it.” When we get to that point in our doctoral journey when we design and deliver the product of our research, we (I) will have to come to the realization that it’s out there. People will review, criticize, and most likely steal it like an artist. Please share more about your NPO topic and the work with parents.
Kim – “In many ways, he is showing readers how to be the architects of their own experience in order to produce their best work.” What a great summary to link it to anyone, not just artists.
When I was studying the enneagram, I would think of the 4 as the creative…creative in art, music, and writing. However, a friend of mine who teaches on the enneagram noted that 4s can be in many fields of work. The 4 desires to discover and understand who they are and bring about new creative ways to express themselves.
The key learning I took from this was that we often put creativity into a box. We think some are creative and others not. Although we are not all 4’s on the Enneagram, we are all designed to be creative since we are made in the image of a creative God. Thank you for making that link in your post.
It makes me realize that our doctoral work is so much more than words on a page. Could seeing it as a creative extension of who we are by God’s design and how we think, make us realize even more that He is pleased by our efforts?
Hello my friend, Kim! I am so proud of you in sharing so vulnerably about your hurt after having a couple decline to participate in your workshop. I know being on centre stage is not your ideal place to be and so I appreciate that you pulled back the curtain a bit on your journey. Also because you are in France, I often wonder if the physical distance from the bulk of the cohort makes it feel lonely for you. I definitely feel a bit lonely when we are on our Zoom calls and some of our classmates can consider driving to see each other. I would have to commit to a six hour, cross-border journey to see Todd in Pennsylvania if I were to do the same.
Okay, to answer your question: I definitely feel stealing like an artist is System 2 thinking. You can be influenced in System 1 thinking and it will even impact how you behave and what you create – but you won’t be conscious of it. What I believe Kleon is advocating for is to be intentional in absorbing what you want to steal from, which is System 2.
Great post – I really enjoyed it!
Hi Kim, thank you for a wonderful post! I love this statement, “I realized that it will be more impactful to offer a new approach to those who are ready and hungry for change instead of spending all my energy trying to persuade those who are not ready.” That is quite a take away from your journey so far. It’s nice that Kleon validates that in his book. What practical changes are you making to focus on the work you want to see done?
Good post and great last question Kim. I think I would have to say that the book generally appeals to system 1 thinking that can be easily assimilated with the temptation to not think more deeply about what is being said. Perhaps each of them act as a doorway or invitation to deeper system 2 thought for those inclined….and maybe some of them don’t make as much sense as they initially hit us. When I hear advice like “Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use—do the work you want to see done.”…and advice along that line, I can’t help but ask how that lands in the majority of our world where subsistence farming or any kind of routine and mind-numbing work is the necessary reality for survival. Is the primary point of his book applicable only for the privileged? Maybe….but maybe not. Some further system 2 thinking required…
It’s funny to read your post as you highlight being bored. Our biggest argument for our kids is to get them to feel boredom. I think in our world of information and quick access to playing a mindless game is in direct opposition to feeling bored. I wonder how this will affect creativity, other then there is nothing more then all 3 of my boys seeing YouTubers and wanting to be like them, do content like them, and be famous like them. This is true even for my child on autism….what is a parent to do to nurture boredom? As far as system 1 and 2 thinking…I read his book as a system 1 book, but when finding how it speaks to me and processing my NPO it has grounded me into system 2 thinking for myself, because I’m stopping to think of my heroes and their heroes and finding my way of making my stolen ideas my own. All of that feels like it’s fighting my system 1 because it’s asking for reflection. My 2 cents:)