When you’re not responsible for the outcome, you’re set free

Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a creative project (or, more likely, thinking about starting a creative project) with gnawing thoughts about how it all is going to work? How will this tiny piece fit in the big picture? Will I be able to finish it? Will it come together? Be good? How will I market it? Will anyone want to read/look at/listen to/buy it?

If this has happened to you, as it has to me many times, it’s likely stopped you in your tracks—and at least made you pause. Or, if you’ve managed to push yourself to the page or canvas anyway, you might have felt its impact humming just below the surface—a not very pleasant source of tension.

This week, I’m going to touch on something many of my teachers have talked about in various forms: remembering that you’re not ultimately responsible for the outcome.

In the workshop I took last year to write the first draft of my novel, the teacher said “Remember, you’re not the author, you’re the channel.”

He repeated it dozens of times. Constantly. In the weekly workshop, the daily letters. In the Q&A sessions. The reason he needed to repeat it so often is that we, as human beings, tend to forget this. We think it’s up to us to “make it happen.” To just do it. To realize the objective. Meet the goal.

We think we’re in it alone. That our actions, and our actions alone, will make or break it.

The thing is - that’s just not true. Not in my worldview at least.

What’s True Instead

We’re never alone. And it’s never solely up to us to make something happen. Instead, we’re always being guided. By the Divine, by the Universe, by Source.

Our role is not to wrest the wheel and try to control everything in the process, thereby trying to assure a certain outcome. Rather, our job is to stay open to that guidance, letting it flow through us and into our work.

What a relief it was to fully embrace this when writing my novel!

Every time I’d start to worry I couldn’t do it, that I didn’t know what I was doing, that I’d never be able to finish, I’d try to step back and realize I didn’t have to. All I needed to do instead was to show up, with commitment and care, and see what wanted to be written.

Then, I was able to write.

I had the desire to write this story for a reason. It was something that was calling to me, wouldn’t leave me alone in quiet moments, and all I had to do was find the support I needed to let the story come through me.

This is the Same for You

Whether you’re working on your own creative project or you’re working on sharing your creative work in the world, you’re not the maker of the project or the creator of the business.

You’re the person who’s been called. Called to create this art. Or called to share your work.

You’re shepherding this creative idea into form, into something real and tangible.

You don’t have to do it. You just have to stay open so that your inner wisdom and greater guidance can come through you, pointing you toward the very next step. Each day. One day after the other.

You might forget this, often. I certainly did, and still do on many days. Hence the constant reminders.

The Weight of Responsibility and the Journey

Like any journey, on your creative path or your journey to share your work in the world, there will be good days and bad days.

The weight of responsibility for the outcome of something can be motivating. Good days can feel inspiring when we want to create something beautiful, something special, unique and needed in this world. And, when you feel solely responsible for something and something goes wrong, it can be crushing.

When you remember, however, that you’re not the maker, you’re the channel, those good and bad days even out. The good days aren’t about you, and neither are the bad days. They’re just days when the flow of the project shifts and responds to the different energies and forces around it.

I remember in my early days of building my business I had a teacher that shared this same truth about sales conversations – that they were really just opportunities to see if we were supposed to work together.

I loved that perspective.

Yes, there were some things I needed to learn about what potential clients were looking for during that conversation, and there were some beliefs I needed to question and some things I needed to practice.

But once I realized that I wasn’t responsible for the call’s success or failure (something that had always felt fraught) I could approach those calls with lightness. I even started doing mini-energy readings as part of those calls.

They were a lot more fun. I could be more authentic, and guess what? My ability to connect with clients deepened.

Being Free

Setting aside responsibility for the outcome of your work is freeing. It lets you play, experiment, have fun - the very ingredients which are more likely to invite success.

They also make the journey much more enjoyable. Which means you’re more likely to stick with things, especially if you hit an unexpected patch where things seem confusing or unclear.

When I reminded myself of this while writing my novel, I could turn back to the page and let myself be surprised by what my subconscious and own inner wisdom brought forth.

What about you?

What do you think about not being the creator but being a channel instead?

I’d love to hear any of your thoughts or stories.

Photo by les anderson on Unsplash