The real work is starting messy and staying soft

You know how you have that creative idea that you’ve always wanted to make happen? Or that business you’ve always wanted to create? Or that version of yourself you desperately desire to be? 

Yeah that. 

But then what happens? You shove it all down into the deepest recesses of your mind, only allowing it to resurface in a daydream or two. Months pass. Years pass. It never happens. You simply press on with the 9-5 because the bills gotta get paid. 

And maybe there comes a point in your life, a crossroads, where you realize that the urge to do this thing is so strong that maybe, just maybe, you’re willing to disrupt the comfort and security of your life as it is to give this thing a try. With the uncertainty of it all…

…you do it anyway. 

If you’ve got years of journals full of creative ideas and/or business ideas — or if every shower you take produces 11 more ideas —  this is a safe space. I’m gonna get into what it means to “do it anyway”, how it can work in your favor and what to keep in mind so you don’t burn out on your own creativity. 

_{yeah cos ~same~}

WHAT IS DOING IT ANYWAY?

Doing it anyway is about taking action on something you strongly desire even though the outcome is unknown and uncontrollable. Naturally that brings up fear, self-doubt, questioning worthiness and even imposter syndrome. 

The thing desired is usually something that goes against the status quo for yourself, your family/community and or society/culture at large. This introduces an external pressure as well with the constant gaze of being perceived at your most vulnerable moment of trying to figure out how to usher this new thing, new you into the world. 

WHAT'S USUALLY HAPPENING WHEN YOU DO IT ANYWAY

You start to do it anyway, congratulations! If you’re grounded, clear, and supported, this can lead to quick gains. 

Very often, what happens with sensitive and multidimensional creatives is that the vision morphs, new ideas come in, what seemed like a passion was actually a deep rabbit hole project. 

We end up pivoting, producing, strategizing, planning, creating, launching, collaborating, zooming with clients…. Only to scrap it all, pivoting yet again and so on. 

Every single day you’re making miracles happen and you’re not even giving yourself so much as a simple pat on the back. Or thanking yourself for being able to do what you did

You’re working and all of a sudden think: “Oh, I should eat!” And don’t. Or you grab the quickest and consequently the most unhealthy thing. You get right back to work and something else crosses your mind: “When’s the last time I exercised?” And you don’t. Or maybe you do 15 jumping jacks for good measure. And “oh!” Don’t forget: “I gotta create some content for Stories and Threads!” Cos now you’re a full time content creator even though all you wanted to do was share your creative talents with the folks who might appreciate them. 

The day ends up being choc full of work from the rootie to the tootie and somehow you’re nowhere closer to realizing your dream. 

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO KEEP GOING

If any of the above sounds like your daily life: keep going! You’re in the messy middle and you just might be the type of creative who learns best from experience and not someone else’s template or method. You’re creating your OWN method here. And that takes time and some trial and error. 

Now we’re gonna get into the part about taking better care of yourself and acknowledging your efforts in a bit but for now, let’s consider why continuing to show up and do it anyway is lowkey a powerful move:

1. You learn how you actually work. When you’re taking messy action, you witness in real time what type of actions work for you and what doesn’t. You might notice, for example, when you are prone to experiencing creative blocks, when you need to do nothing, and when your creativity is on fire and ready to be expressed. I remember back in 2019 when I realized that I needed a nap during the day in order to be able to focus better on my work. And how fast-forward to 2026, I don’t need a nap so much as I need exercise to feel balanced during the day. Doing it anyway helps you to understand these patterns.
2. You’re more likely to achieve your goal. Taking messy, imperfect action is better than taking no action at all. Caveat: this doesn’t mean don’t pause or rest. Even the tiniest action(s) everyday towards bringing your creative vision to life gets you closer to making that happen. Your body/mind doesn’t care about being perfect. What matters is embodying what it is you want to be. That creates a fertile mindset that prioritizes moving forward even though there is discomfort and uncertainty over sticking with the status quo.
3. Your worldview widens. Speaking of status quo, I often see posts on Threads saying that entrepreneurs need to have entrepreneur friends around them. People who are on the cutting edge, doing new and different things see reality as something flexible, something that can change for the better, something that doesn’t have to remain exactly as it is. Most people fix their life around an accepted reality. Creatives do the opposite. Doing it anyway–taking action on disrupting and creating expands the way you see the world.
4. You discover who you really are and what you’re actually passionate about. This is perhaps the most fulfilling aspect of doing it anyway. You don’t only learn about how you work (as mentioned in #1), you understand who you are and what fulfills you short term and long term. You gain self awareness and because you’re gaining it by doing, you can apply that awareness to all facets of your life. It’s wisdom. It’s discernment. And it’s self actualization.

In hindsight, in my own business and creative idea pursuits, I pivoted so many times I can’t remember. And I took messy action without certainty beyond the fact that my interest was piqued and I knew I could deliver. My educational and professional backgrounds are the kind where a variety of options were pursuable making it difficult, as a multipassionate, to stick to one thing. So I pivoted and pivoted like a pivot pro.

_{just look at this pivot-pro! i won't be pivoting again for a loooooong time, honey}

As I gained momentum with each pivot, I lost it because I completely stopped what was working to chase a shiny new idea. This was messy, exhausting, confusing and frustrating. And likely a fear of succeeding. 0/10. Do not recommend. But I’m the type of person who’s curious and learns by experience. After about 5 major pivots over 4 years, I learned so much. And I was finally able to create a brand and mission that fits me well and an approach that is sustainable. 

Though I wouldn’t suggest changing things up so much because this negatively affected revenue and took years for me to figure out (as you could imagine). That’s why I’m including some tips below. 

HOW TO DO IT ANYWAY WITHOUT GETTING OFF TRACK

So, who’s taking care of the creative being (yes, you, that means you) behind all the output? You did? Maybe a little. 

When you take the leap to do it anyway, It can feel…strange, to say the least. Like you’re not quite yourself. It’s when the ideas are there but good ol’ creative block is playa hating at platinum level eliteness. And you start searching everywhere for a quick cure: more magnesium, a hot girl walk, bone broth and maca smoothies, a quick getaway out of the country. And it works for a second (so powerfully you post about it on TikTok) and then things go back to (now) normal fuzzy, creative blocking, bringing creative ideas to life with $3-worth-of-gas-in-an-SUV-type energy.

Let’s change that up a bit, shall we?

Here’s some practices to keep in mind as you’re doing it anyway:

1. Keep a clear intention top of mind with everything you do. I’ll describe intention here as the way you want to feel and the way you want to do. This isn’t about the goal but it's more how you want to show up in the doing. Do you want to move slower? Do you want to work outside sometimes? Do you want to make sure you don’t feel overwhelmed? Having even the slightest understanding of how you want to show up keeps you true to yourself and helps you honor your capacity and creativity too. In my minicourse, Soft | Sacred, I provide step-by-step instructions on how to do this.
2. Keep your goals clear. We can all set goals with the best of ‘em come January but what happens after? Each month or each quarter, it helps to take a look at the goals you set and update them as needed. Staying clear on what it is you want to make a real thing in the world ensures you don’t expend your energy on things that aren’t your priority at the moment. Also, when new opportunities come your way you can easily decide whether or not they’re yours for the taking based on what you have prioritized as your goals. My Soft Spark Mindmapping goal-setting template is perfect for this.
3. Honor your energetic capacity. As I described earlier, once you get into doing it anyway, the doing can consume you. Next thing you know you’re on some therapist’s sofa with a new autoimmune disease trying to back-track where it all went wrong. And we don’t want that here. We want sustainable doing. Sustainable manifesting of our creative visions. We don’t want burn bright then burn out. That means honoring what’s inconvenient to your success. So if you’re feeling dead tired, see to it to take a nap or a break. Or if your body’s not feeling great, make sure you’re exercising and eating well. If you did 2 weeks of major output. Minimize your output as much as possible the next few weeks. THIS is what makes your doing sustainable. I talk more about Energetic Capacity in my free S.U.N.D.A.E. Life™ Ultimate Guide. 
4. Work with the seasons. Besides the different states of creative flow within any given day, there’s seasonal differences you likely never pay attention to cos well… capitalism. There’s rest and stillness in winter, gentle awakening in spring, get up and go in summer, and let it all integrate for fall. But what ends up happening every year? You find yourself knee-deep in summer realizing you never took a break, never honored the natural energetic ebb & flow of life and you’re somehow now full of enough get-up-and-go creative energy to power a small apartment building. 
5. Maintain healthy boundaries. This one is underrated. When we think of boundaries, we think of finding a good way to say “no.” They’re often externally focused and are presented as black and white, easy to distinguish. None of this is true. Taking imperfect action does require an ire of focus and if yours is on doing the 50-11 things you overcommitted on because you couldn’t find it in your heart to say “no” then there’s no energy left over for what you’re creating. If you’re having trouble with auto-yes-ing, I have plenty of resources to help you work through that and I’d encourage you to start with the Good Girl Glitch live workshop where I break down everything from the conditioning playing in the background to somatic techniques to gently turn off the automatic self-abandonment & overcommitting.

If that creative idea keeps tugging at your psyche and it feels like you need to make it happen and step into a new identity, doing it anyway is one of the most effective ways to start AND realize your creative vision. Taking messy action can be massively beneficial and all-consuming at the same time. Make sure to keep my tips in mind for doing without getting off track (or burning yourself out). Explore the Soft Sundae Studio for more resources on capacity-focues creative leadership. Hint: it alllll starts with boundaries.

for your “this feels like me” folder