Fear of Flying.

Last week while I was working I was listening to Fear of Flying by Erica Jong. It was originally published two years before I was born, yet seems oddly appropriate for today. I read the book for the first time when I was 15 or 16 years old. I stumbled across it on my mother's bookshelf, read the first few pages and I was hooked! It was a great experience to hear it again 20 years later, being now, older than Jong was when she wrote it.

(Christ on a cracker! When did I get so old?)

At the end of the audio book there was an interview with Jong and one thing she said really stuck with me. When the interviewer asked her about her experience of writing it she admitted that while writing it she was terrified. She said:

"When you're terrified, embarrassed, don't wanna put it down on paper, I've found through the years, usually you're doing something good."

I think she has a good point. This isn't always the case for everyone, but often you have to go to scary places to get to the good stuff. Not every time, but sometimes. If you aren't a little teeny tiny bit scared, you're probably not digging deep enough or trying hard enough!

What do we lose by staying "safe" within certain boundaries?

How do you push through and keep making work that feels uncomfortable or even embarrassing?

How do you know when you're on the right track?