“Creative people naturally produce false-positives. Ideas that they think are good but aren’t. Ideas that other people have already had. Mediocre ideas that contain buried within them the seeds of much better ideas.”
While people obsess over the importance of inspiration and execution within the creative process, they often overlook another element that’s every bit as crucial.
Ryan Holiday explains why a draw-down period is an important part of the creative process and points to examples of how it’s influenced his work.
He points out the value in a pause after you find inspiration but before you start creating in order to reflect, think, and prepare for the work ahead of you. Doing so can improve your work and save you from pursuing the wrong projects.