Your direction vs. your speed

Plinth, 12" X 14", mixed media on panel.

This past month I gave a talk at Bard College to their soon-to-be BFA grads. It was supposed to be a professional development talk. It ended up being a "Calm down, it's gonna be OK" kind-of-talk about how-the-fuck to live as an artist.

It reminded me of this quote that I think about all the time: 

"Your direction is more important than your speed."

Everything in our lives is set up to prioritize speed over direction. Part of this is because it's easier to focus on speed. We know how to go faster. We know how to put in our online grocery order faster, do our Amazon check-out faster, multi-task at work faster.

Speed is easier to improve upon.

But what happens when we focus on speed over direction?

When we focus on speed:

• We focus on quantity over quality (i.e. getting fast results).

• We lose sight of our larger objectives.

• We Tunnel.

• We get stuck at Generate.

Your direction, on the other hand, is harder to identify. But it's more important.

Think of your direction as where you're putting your attention. What do you want to pay attention to? What do you want to create more room for in your life? You don't have to know exactly HOW you're going to do it. It first starts with just paying attention to what you care about. 
 

When we focus on direction:

• We're more patient with ourselves and our work.

• We accept a longer timeline.

• We let the current take us where we need to go (we follow our values).

• We listen to our hunches.
   

Do you value speed or direction in your creative life?
What would it look like to start valuing direction?