Be careful what/who you let in

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about... consumption. 

Not just what we scroll. What we let in. 

The videos, comments, opinions, people we spend time with... people we admire enough to influence how we see ourselves. 

Because whether you realize it or not, ALL OF IT is affecting you. 

And if you’re an artist, I think you have to be especially careful. 

Your mind is the environment your work comes from. Fucking... protect it. 

Social media makes this obvious. My feed loves serving me videos about how impossible it is to make money as an artist. How brutal touring is. How the music industry is collapsing. Apparently being a musician is even a dating red flag now. 

Cool… lol, thanks algorithm. 

I can laugh at that stuff and know it’s engagement bait. 

But see enough of anything and eventually some part of your brain starts wondering: 

Wait… is everyone right? 

The same thing happens with people. Someone can be smart, successful, experienced - even someone you deeply respect - and still give you advice that isn’t right for you. 

Because everyone speaks through the lens of their own experience. 

THEIR taste. THEIR fears. THEIR disappointments. THEIR understanding of what’s possible. 

Sometimes when someone says, “That won’t work,” what they really mean is: “I don’t know how I would make that work.” 

Biiiiig difference. 

This doesn’t mean ignoring criticism or surrounding yourself with people who agree with everything you do. It means developing a strong enough internal compass that you can hear someone else’s opinion without automatically making it your own. 

A good collaborator understands this. They’ll tell you what they think while leaving room for you to disagree. 

Because feedback should help you see your idea more clearly. It shouldn’t replace it. 

And not everybody needs front-row seats to your unfinished ideas. Some ideas need protection before they’re strong enough to survive everybody else’s opinions. 

Which is why I’m increasingly convinced: 

CREATE MORE THAN YOU CONSUME. 

Consumption puts you inside other people’s worlds. Creation brings you back into your own. 

You can spend the first three hours of your day absorbing everyone else’s music, career, outrage, advice, aesthetics and definition of success... and then wonder why you can’t hear yourself anymore. 

So, be careful what you let in. 

You don’t have to watch every video. You don’t have to read every comment. You don’t have to ask everybody what they think. 

Your attention is yours. Your imagination is yours. Your instincts are yours. 

Guard them.