Review: The Spark and the Grind
This was one book I knew I’d love even before I started on it.
It wasn’t something on my book list at all, but rather it caught my eye while I was browsing through the shelves in the library. "The Spark and the Grind". Two very contrasting words, yet they lit a fire in me to immediately devour its contents.
Erik Wahl sums up the book so well, "ongoing, original creativity requires the spark and the grind: the initial flicker of hope and the work to stroke it into something that changes the game. always both, never just one."
This concept has been something I’ve been holding dear to the last few months of summer break. In life, there is bound to be instances where we love what we do. And other times, work is a dread. I get it. But creativity and productivity do NOT have to be independent notions. They do not have to conflict, in fact this book has affirmed my belief that the two can, and should coexist in our lives in harmony, brining us the most satisfaction.
That said, I know many will struggle to grasp this paradox. Wahl isn’t saying that everyone should quit their jobs and drop out of college to 'pursue your dreams'. On the contrary, stay. Stay because your current role is where you are called to in the here and now. And your current roles give you the needed support to take creative risk.
Another huge struggle is the dreaded mundane lifestyle many are used to. I strongly believe we need to transit from routine -> rhythm. A routine is boring, repetitive, monotonous. But once a rhythm is established, there is joy. Excitement for tomorrow. A spring in out steps. At the baseline, sticking to some sort of schedule gives us a safe boundary to try new things and minimises decision fatigue on areas that do not matter.
Of course, the element of fun has to always be in whatever I personally set out to do. After all, progress never occurs without change to the familiar. Honestly if you find yourself sian about your work, I hate to break it to you, but it isn’t what you’re doing that’s boring. You are boring. Voluntarily seek uncertainty and the unfamiliar, if not it will find you unexpectedly when you not prepared.
But truly, the greatest of these is love. As Austin Kleon says, "... to become a pro and remain a pro, you have to remain willing to become a fool in love, again and again."
A fool in love.
That’s what we’re called to be isn’t it?
Fools are amateurs who are so new that they are fuelled by fresh fire in their bellies to explore, make mistakes, and have fun. They don’t care who is looking or if they are in it alone. I aspire to keep this child-like wonder in me for years on end.
"The Spark and the Grind" has taught me all these and more. Creativity requires discipline, and that’s something I will not shy away from. Nothing consistently good has ever been born out of pure spontaneity and luck. The key is to keep showing up, for myself and my craft. My creativity is proof that I am truly living.
